


White Collar AU

by gabrielxreader



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 14:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 54,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17286179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabrielxreader/pseuds/gabrielxreader
Summary: White Collar AU where Gabriel “Trickster” Novak is a con-man turned FBI consultant, who works with Y/N Y/L/N to solve white collar crimes in New York.





	1. A Deal

The razor was unfamiliar in his hands as he worked the blade across his thick beard. It had been months since he’d shaven and now it was finally time. He worked quickly, washing off any leftover hair with some water before slicking back his honey brown hair.  
Honey colored eyes stared back at him in the mirror as he looked into it. “Hello handsome.” He smiled as he returned to his former self. After a moment of checking for any missed spots, he leaned down and opened the plastic bags by his feet. One contained a guard uniform and the other held the keycard to get out of this place.  
Stripping quickly out of his old jumpsuit, he buttoned the dark navy outfit, smirking at the incredible fit. It made his butt look fantastic along with highlighting his toned chest. Just as he finished up with disposing his old orange uniform the prison bell rang. “Show time.” He clapped his hands together before opening the door that read ‘Staff Only’ on it. No one questioned him as he strutted down the plain concrete halls and then through the machine shop. It was loud and busy in there with tattooed men being watched by guards, but none paid any attention to him. Him with the clean cut look to match the guards uniform. Him with the history of being a con-artist along with many other talents. Him whose name was Gabriel Novak.  
Gabriel moved fluidly through the rest of the prison, past the cells with a line of inmates returning after their break. He got to the last door and reached in his pocket for the keycard. With a quick swipe the light turned green and he pushed it open. The guard on the other side caught it. “Hey man.” The blonde guard greeted, holding it further open for him.  
“Thanks.” He tipped his head before turning to the exit.   
The sun felt brighter as he walked past the prison fence, leaving the bare wire behind. Gabriel gazed up, closing his eyes, letting himself enjoy the moment. No longer was he held inside a metal and concrete box, instead he was free.   
The moment was soon over though as he stared ahead, thinking his plan over. Gabriel headed over to a prison truck, unlocking it easily with the car antenna and then hot wiring it. Driving for a few miles he approached the outskirts of New York City.   
“Back home.” Gabriel murmured as he pulled over to go look at the street market. He slipped on a some khakis and a polo, losing the uniform to look less obvious. It didn’t take long for him to find what he was looking for.  
A skinny fella had clothes laid out on a table as well as some hanged up on one of those mobile racks. He seemed nice with a graying beard and crooked teeth. Gabriel went through the rack, settling on a bright yellow windbreaker. With ease he slipped it on, checking himself out in the mirror that was set up.  
“Looks good on you.” The fella remarked. “Five dollars.”  
“How about I give you three?” Gabriel flashed him a charming smile.  
“Alright, deal.” Gabriel handed over the cash then made his way to his next stop.   
The airport was busy as always, keeping travelers on their feet. After ditching the truck, Gabriel made his way over to the valet parking where other people had on their own yellow windbreakers. “I got this one.” Gabriel called out to the other valets as he walked over to the 1960 Ferrari convertible. Without even a second glance they let him have the car, which had a man in a crisp suit getting out of it.  
“I’ll be back in four months. Make sure to take care of her.” He threw the keys at him before getting his stuff out of the trunk, leaving his car to the con-man.  
“Idiot.” Gabriel chuckled as he sat down in the car, shrugging off the windbreaker. Starting the car up, he felt the power it had. “I’m coming for you baby.” He whispered, turning into traffic and speeding away.

On the other side of the city, you waited with baited breath as an agent worried at cracking a bank deposit box. Inside was evidence for a man you were trying to catch. He’d made off with a good profit so far, but you were finally going to stop him.  
“Drop three.” The agent called out from the small room. His ear pressed against the cold metal surface with his fingers carefully rotating the dial around.  
Several other agents along with yourself stood just outside, watching the drilled in camera confirm that one of the locks had dropped. You paced back and forth, nerves taking over slightly as he continued.  
After a few calculated movements the agent spoke again. “Drop two.”  
You patted one of the men at the computer on the back, feeling proud to be working with them. You all had been tirelessly working on this case for months and now you were so close. “Let’s get this over with.” You whispered, observing the video.  
“Drop four.” The agent smiled. “That’s all of them.”  
You gave out a relieved sigh, along with others around you. One of your colleagues, Sam Winchester, smiled at a job well done. “Looks like we’re gonna catch another one.”   
“Yeah.” You nodded, then looked over at the numbers. Three, two, four. You stared at them, trying to figure out why they seemed familiar. Also normally when you choose a lock combination there is more variation between them. Three, two, four. They were picked out, specific, and weren’t the normal ones you’d pick. They meant something. Three, two, four. Then it made sense. “Wait.” You called out, but it was too late.   
The agent opened the deposit box and a flash of small explosives blew up any evidence it had contained. Smoke engulfed the room, making it impossible to see anything. Quickly you rushed in to search for the agent.  
“You okay?” Your words were muffled as you used your blazer to cover your face to breath easier. Even in the small room you found it a little difficult to find him, but you did, yanking him by the shirt out of the room.   
He started coughing as were other agents, you noticed, as the smoke flittered out of the room and into the hallway you had set your operation in. Everyone had a sleeve, handkerchief, or other material covering their mouth and nose. Sam tried to wave away the smoke with his massive hands as you dusted yourself off.  
“What happened?” Sam coughed.  
“I said wait and he didn’t listen.” You nodded towards the agent who was cracking the code. “Ugh! Time and money spent to get close to the Crossroads King and it blows up in our faces! Classic!” You yelled, throwing your arms up in the air. You pinched the bridge of your nose, trying to calm yourself.  
“Agent Y/L/N, how’d you know it was going to blow up?” The agent asked, cleaning off his shirt.  
“Three, two, four. Look at your phones. Wanna guess what it spells?” You watched as many of them took out their phones, looking at the numbers.  
“FBI.” Sam answered, shaking his head.  
“Yeah, FBI. He knew we were on to him.” You angrily stated as you kept dusting off your blazer. “Anyone wanna tell me what this is?” You called out, holding out a shiny fiber. “Anybody?” There were several other fibers coating your blazer and you knew it’d be fun to have it washed. “Anyone know what this is? No? Well then I guess you all have some new homework to work on.” Just as you were about to say something more, Agent Jo Harvelle appeared out of the dust, followed by two agents. “Jo. Look at this.” You held your arms out. “Apparently the Crossroads King has some sense of humor.”  
“Yes, well that’s fun and all, but I got something else for ya.” She approached you.  
“What?” You were curious now.  
“Gabriel Novak escaped; or as he liked to call himself, the Trickster escaped.”   
“What? How? Why?”   
She handed over a file, which you flipped through. “Director Thorson has asked for you. Thinks that you’ll be able to find him again since you did it before.”  
“Guess I’m working on two cases now.” You muttered. “Well, shall we?” You started walking towards your car. “Prison isn’t too far away.”  
“Don’t worry, you’ll catch him in no time.” Jo smirked as she followed you out.  
Once you got to the prison you found the director already waiting for you. He was a tall balding man who looked slightly panicked that one of the inmates had just walked out the door so easily. “Agent Y/L/N.” He shook your hand quickly. “Glad you could make it.”  
“Well, I’m always willing to help when it comes to Gabriel Novak. Especially catching him.”  
“Of course.” The director nodded, leading you to Gabriel’s empty cell.   
“Do you happen to know why he ran? Didn’t he have only a couple months left on his sentence? What was it four years he got?”  
The director nodded. “We don’t know anything yet.” He turned to you. “That’s why we called you in. Figured you might know.” He stopped at the open cell. “This is where he was staying.”  
“And where he is going to be once I find him again.” You mumbled to yourself as you stepped inside it. Though most inmates kept theirs tidy and clean, Gabriel’s cell was a collection of all different items. Copies of famous art pieces were leaned against the wall with human figure drawings taped up to dress up the blank white concrete walls. You rifled through some books on the desk, noting a book about how to work on trucks in the mix.  
“He stole a maintenance truck, correct?” You held up the book for the director to see.  
“Yes.”  
“Looks like he was preparing for some time.” Flipping through it you noticed a few pages marked. The information on those pages would’ve been needed to know in order to hotwire the truck. As you continued to search through the book, a brochure fell out and onto the bed. Picking it up you saw men wearing bright yellow windbreakers as the airport building stood behind them. “New valet parking.” You read, turning it over for the location. Then you dropped it back on the bed, glancing around the room once more. “I’d like to see the footage for today.”  
“Certainly.” Director Thorson lead the way.  
Making haste, you quickly went into the small surveillance room with monitors spread out across a metal desk. The director had his shoulder brushing against yours as you both waited for the footage to be pulled.  
“We always take an image of the prisoners once a day. That way we know what they look like and if anything changes.” Thorson explained.  
“This is today, sir.” The guard tapped the black and white screen.  
You leaned in, focusing on the figure. He had a thick beard with long grown out hair. You would’ve never guessed it was him. “Sure has changed a lot.”   
“How so?” The director turned to you.  
“Didn’t have a beard the last time I saw him.” You stepped back, thinking for a moment. “Can you rewind to the he stopped shaving?”   
“Sure.” The guard went to work, watching the screen rewind took some time. Finally, you got to the day he looked clean shaven last. That was the image of Gabriel that was most familiar to you.  
“Alright.” You glanced over at the director. “I need to know everything that happened that day because he stopped shaving for a reason. Find me it.”  
“Yes, ma’am.” He left, stopping to get some guards to help him out.  
It took some time, but they finally got back to you with some interesting information. “He had a visitor that day.” The guard showed you the sign-in log with the name Kali Shah written in neat cursive. “He hasn’t really had anyone else show up since.”  
“She didn’t return.” Your eyes scanned the log.  
The guard shook his head. “Nope, although it’s kinda weird. Going backwards she visited him pretty regularly.”   
“Got the recording of their last visit together?”  
“Pulling it up now.” He swerved in his chair, clicking away before the video popped up.  
It wasn’t the best quality and had no sound, but you could see Gabriel on one side of the glass and a pretty Indian woman on the other. She spoke quickly, looking away from him as she did with saddened eyes.   
“Got any idea what they are saying?” The director snuck up behind you, staring at the screen.  
“Doesn’t look like a happy couple reunion.” You remarked, focusing on the gestures and movements.  
Gabriel slapped his hand against the glass as Kali stood up. She shook her head at him as she turned away.  
“Looks like a goodbye.” You murmured, watching Gabriel yell out a silent plea. “And now we have motive for his escape.”  
“You think he escaped to find this woman?”  
“Always was the romantic.” You shook your head, pulling out your phone as you left the room. “Jo, I need the address of a Kali Shah please.”

Kali’s apartment was empty, except for Gabriel, who was leaning against one of the plain white walls. It used to be filled with items, pictures, art pieces; memories of all of their adventures. And now it was all gone. Wiped away clean with no consideration for him. He frowned, staring at the empty hourglass in his hand. It had weight to it even without any sand with bronze details decorating the top and bottom.  
Gabriel heard the door open, but didn’t bother to look. He knew it wasn’t Kali.  
“I see Kali moved out.” You spoke, scanning the area for any hidden threats.“Did she leave you a message in there?” You nodded towards the object that he continued to fiddle around with.  
“The hourglass is the message.” He sighed, placing it down next to him. “Time's run out.”   
“It certainly has.” You nodded. “Been awhile since I saw you last.”  
Gabriel glanced up at you. “Yeah. A few years...give or take. Miss me?” He gave you his classic charming smile.  
You snorted, shaking your head at him. You knew him all too well. “You carrying at all?”  
He rolled his eyes. “I know it’s been awhile, but you know me pretty well. When have I ever carried a gun?”  
Shrugging, you answered. “Had to ask to make sure. This job isn’t the most safe thing in the world.”  
“Neither is prison.” Gabriel chuckled.  
“Hey, speaking of prison...they’d asked me why you escaped. You had..what...like a few months left to go. They couldn’t figure it out.”   
“But you did, huh?”  
You glanced around the empty apartment. “The last time Kali sees you...she says goodbye and then disappears to who knows where. This is the last place she was and from here….well who knows. I’m guessing you already know all of that.”  
Gabriel stared over at the hourglass. “I missed her by two days.” He murmured.   
“Still, it only took you a month and a half to escape. That’s impressive.” You smooth down your blazer before bringing your walkie talkie up to speak in it. “All clear. Gabriel is unarmed.”   
“We surrounded?” His honey eyes look up at you.  
“Yep.”   
“Wow. I’m flattered. Surprised you’d round up the gang for little ol’ me.” He dramatically placed his hand over his chest.   
“Yeah, well. Don’t always know what I’m walking into with you, Trickster.” Gabriel gave a small smile to his nickname. You moved closer, but keeping a foot away from him. “So, what’s the message?” You peered down at the hourglass.  
“Goodbye.”  
“Huh.” You watched Gabriel as he kept staring at it, probably hoping some hidden message would pop out and tell him where Kali went. You felt some pity for the man, but then again, he did just escape prison. “You know they’re gonna give you another four years.” Gabriel nodded his head, although he didn’t seem to be listening. “Was it worth it?”  
Gabriel shrugged. “It would have been better if Kali was here, but you can’t get it all right?”   
“I don’t know, I got you.”   
He smiled at that. “True.” With a yawn, he stretched before standing up. “Man, is that the same outfit you wore when you caught me? Talk about deja vu.”   
You studied yourself. “It certainly is.”   
As you observed your outfit, Gabriel approached. He halted, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. Carefully he reached over a picked up a shiny fiber from your shoulder. “You know what this is?” He stared at it, rubbing his fingers to feel the texture.  
“No idea. Been trying to figure it out. Was working on it before they notified me about you.”  
“Think you’ll catch him?” He eyed you.   
You didn’t know if he was jealous or impressed. “Don’t know. He’s good. Perhaps even better than you.”  
“What do I get if I tell you what this is?” He held out the fiber in front of you. “Is it worth a one-on-one with you?”  
“What are you talking about?”   
“If I tell you what this is, will you agree to have a chat with me when I get back to prison? Just a simple chat. Nothing more.”  
You narrowed your eyes at him. “It’s never that simple with you.”  
“This time it is. Please? Just agree to a meeting.” His whiskey eyes burned into you.  
“Fine.”  
“It’s a security fiber for the new Canadian hundred dollar bill.” He stated, letting the fiber fall to the ground as the FBI burst into the room. They rushed over with Gabriel holding up his hands. He didn’t even fight them as they handcuffed him. “One week.” He called out as he was escorted out of the room. You stayed a moment to think things over, glancing down at the empty hourglass again.

A few days had passed since you had found Gabriel for the second time. You walked into the white collar division building with coffee in hand, pausing as you saw a group of well dressed men in frantic chatter. Jo stood up ahead of you with a folder in hand.  
“Hey.” You called, looking over at the group of men, whose eyes had followed you. “What’s got the fancy pants over there in a twist?” You whispered to Jo as she stepped into pace with you.  
“You.” She smirked.   
“Me? What about me?”   
“Turns out Gabriel was right. The stuff that was in the deposit box, turns out to be fibers for the new Canadian hundred.” She handed over the folder, letting you soak in the information.  
“Wow.” You gasped as you quickly read over the lab analysis.   
“Apparently it’s classified.”   
“Not so much now, huh?” You chuckled.  
Jo laughed with you, looking over her shoulder at the men still standing there. “Yeah, they’re not too happy about it. The Canadian secret service is wondering how you knew what it was.”  
“Well, this is gonna be fun.” You remarked, heading up to the office. 

“How’d you know?” You leaned against the wall in the prison’s room that was meant for interviews and meetings between prisoners and their attorneys. Gabriel sat at a picnic style table with a guard standing by the door.  
“Come on, Y/N. It’s my job.” He smirked. “Tell me. How upset were the Canadians? Did they threaten to stop the maple syrup trade?” He joked, chuckling lightly.  
“Pretty upset, but in their own Canadian way.” You tried to contain your smile. “Alright, you gonna tell me what this meeting is about? I promised to be here in one week and here I am.” You crossed your arms, staring at him.  
Gabriel leaned back in his chair. "I know why they call him the Crossroads King. Like those stories where you go to make a deal or how they are thought to be in between two worlds. He always disappears before you can get to him...makes you think he made a deal with the devil to get to where he is.”  
“Dare I ask how you know so much?” You narrowed your eyes.  
Gabriel propped an elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. “You know tons about me since you keep finding me, but didn’t you ever think that perhaps it was a two way street? I know plenty about you, cupcake. Remember the birthday cards?”  
You nodded. “Yeah, always disappointed when there wasn’t a confession in them.”  
“Hey, I can’t help it that I was accused of multiple crimes and those were never proven.” He pointed out as you rolled your eyes.  
“Yeah, but you got caught on forgery.”   
“We can’t all be perfect.” He sighed, pausing for a moment. “You’ve been after the Crossroads King for about as long as you spent looking for me. I’ll help you catch him.” His whiskey eyes shot up to yours with determination in them.  
“Really?” You scoffed. “That might prove difficult with the concrete walls surrounding you.”  
Gabriel slid over a folder that he had been laying next to him. “I can be released into your willing and able hands.”  
You made your way over, taking the folder and skimming through it. It had all the information and policies in it with Gabriel’s record. “Well this is great and all, but um no.” You tossed it back on the table.  
“What? Come on.”   
“No. You wanna know why? Because I know you’re gonna go look for Kali or do something else stupid, like running.” You argued.  
“Y/N. I promise. I’m not gonna run.” He took the folder and took a piece of paper out. “GPS tracking anklet. New ones are tamper proof.” He handed you the paper.  
Your eyes scanned over, reading about how good it was at tracking. It could someone down to a couple of feet and would send off an alarm right away if anything was amiss. “You’ve done your research, I’ll give you that.”  
“Just listen.” Gabriel pleaded. “I give you my expertise on this case and perhaps more in the future.”   
“Future? Your future is here, Gabriel. Or have you forgotten?”  
“Let me help you catch the Crossroads King. Just one case together and see how it goes.”  
You hated yourself for considering, but with the last lead blowing up, you didn’t have much. Perhaps Gabriel could help you and if not there wasn’t much to lose. The only thing that kept you from outright saying yes was Kali. You knew Gabriel wouldn’t let her go. “Promise me you’ll give up your search for Kali. She obviously doesn’t want to be found.”  
“I promise. Cross my heart.” Gabriel said quickly, making the gesture of crossing his heart over his chest.  
You narrowed your eyes at him. “So we’re clear, if you try to escape or can’t help the case, then we are done. You’re done and back here for years to come.”  
“Crystal clear.” Gabriel nodded, whiskey eyes shining.   
You stared at him for a moment, looking for any hint of deception. “Okay. I’ll get the paperwork started then.”   
“Oh...um…” Gabriel awkwardly reached under the table, pulling another folder out of thin air. “I hope you don’t mind, but I already started it. Here.” He slid it across the table for you to take.  
You stared at him impressed, but also worried about how much access he had in prison. Perhaps having him under your watchful eye would be better. “How did you...you know what, not gonna ask.” You sighed, defeated. “Shouldn’t take long.”  
“Hope not.” Gabriel piped up cheerly. “We got us a bad guy to catch.”  
You rolled your eyes at his enthusiasm, leaving the small room. The guard escorted Gabriel back to his cell, but now he knew that he wasn’t going to be there much longer.   
It only took a day to get things settled, although you still didn’t believe you were doing this. Standing by your car, you waited for the gates to open. As they did, you noticed the clean shaven Gabriel had a swag to his step.  
“Show me it.” You prompted, nodding at his ankles.  
“Buy me dinner first.” He called back, strutting forward. Once he was about a yard away he stopped, lifting up his pants on one leg. “Not the most fashionable accessory I’ve had the pleasure to wear.”  
“I don’t know. I kinda like it.” You joked before remembering the deal and what was at stake. “Alright, let’s get to work.”


	2. Crossroads King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Con-artist!Gabriel, FBI!Reader, slight inference of Lesbian!Jo/Bisexual!Jo, murder with a needle

“So, where’re we going?” Gabriel scanned the city, observing how you kept driving towards the most run down part.  
“Your new home.” You smiled, getting somewhat excited at the face he’d make when you showed him his new place. You knew he was used to luxury and the fact that most of the people you were driving by were homeless said something about where he’d be living. In no time you got there, making sure to lock your car as you headed into the hotel/apartment complex.  
The lobby, if you could even call it that, was small with people standing around. They stared at you as you walked towards the check-in desk. You nodded at the white-haired man. “This is Gabriel Novak. I believe the FBI office called earlier.”  
He takes a moment to recall it, running his fingers through his hair. “Ah yes.” He handed over the key to Gabriel, who takes it reluctantly. “There you be, young fella.”  
“Thank you.” Gabriel gave him a small smile then pulled you to the side. “Can we chat for a sec?” You nodded, knowing what was about to come. He dragged you further away from prying eyes as a grimy man watched both of you. Once out of earshot from most, he spoke. “Do I have-” Suddenly the white haired man at the counter slammed his hand down, killing a giant bug that had scurried across the counter. “Do I have to stay here?” He whined.  
“What? Would you rather go back to prison?” You arched an eyebrow at him.  
“At least they didn’t have any rats there.” Gabriel sassed back before letting out a sigh. “Okay, maybe not, but….come on...this dumpster? I’ve seen pornos cleaner than this place.” He waved his hands around as he spoke.  
“Yeah, well it costs seven hundred dollars a month for you to be in prison and that’s the same amount it’s gonna cost for you to live out of it as well. If you can find something better in New York City, fine, but until the impossible happens...this is where you’re gonna live.” You informed him.  
“What about clothes? I’m wearing everything I have right now.”   
You gave him the once over. He had a maroon button down shirt on with a cargo jacket over it and jeans. “Thrift store down the block. Anything else? Nope, great.” You said quickly, not giving him time to add anything in. “Also the tracking anklet is set up so you have a two mile radius from this place. And this is your homework.” You reached into your messenger bag and handed him over a bunch of files. “Remember this is what you wanted, so this is what you get.” You smiled at him before heading over to the exit. “See you at seven tomorrow...and don’t be late.” You called out, shutting the door behind you.

Gabriel took your advice and decided to head to the thrift store. It was definitely better than the place he was supposed to live in. Looking around the racks, he found some interesting items that caught his eye. One was a trenchcoat that would probably keep him warm, but it was too big. His hands were hidden by about six inches of sleeve. Then he saw a pure white suit, but then looked at the size and knew it wouldn’t fit.  
Sighing in frustration he made his way to the counter, peering down into the glass cases, hoping to find something. Just as he thought about giving up, the bell sounded and a man walked in with suits in hand. He was of smaller statue like Gabriel with captivating blue eyes and dark hair.  
“Hi. I’d like to donate these.” He said sweetly to the woman behind the counter. There was nervous energy around him as he didn’t seem quite sure of himself.  
Gabriel watched him, strolling over to see all that he had brought. He tried not to be too obvious as his whiskey eyes scanned each item. They all looked perfect and expensive. Not even a button was out of order. “Now that is a suit.” He approached, picking up one of them by the hanger and getting a full view of it.  
“Oh, yeah….umm….don’t really need them anymore…” The man shrugged.  
“Huh? Why’s that? Doesn’t look like you grew out of them.” Gabriel held it up next to the man.  
“No, well my editor suggested I buy them...but...uhh....didn’t ever feel right to wear them. This is more me.” He pointed to his outfit, which consisted of a band shirt under a gray sweatshirt and jeans.  
“Editor? You a writer?” Gabriel removed his own jacket before putting on the suit jacket.  
“Well...kinda. I mean I did write a series called Supernatural. Got turned into a T.V. show even if you can believe that.” He chuckled.   
“Supernatural…..oh! I remember that series. So you must be Chuck Shurley then, huh?” The man nodded. “They had it in the prison library. Gotta say my favorite was Mystery Spot.” Gabriel put an arm around him, pulling him in tight.  
“Oh, thanks.” Chuck scratched the back of his neck, then realized what Gabriel had said. “Did you say prison?”  
“Yeah, nothing that big. Just a little misunderstanding, you know?” Gabriel waved it off. “Anyways, I’ve read most of them and I have to ask, why did you kill off that archangel dude? He seemed like someone I could get along with.” Gabriel asked as he strutted over to the mirror to check himself out.  
“Yeah, I mean, in the moment it seemed to work with the story. I got a few letters about that from fans. Mostly keep all of that in my empty guest room. Haven’t bothered to do anything with it, but store things in it.” Chuck rambled, then glanced over at Gabriel. “Wow you look good in that. Better than me.”  
“Oh, please. I’m sure you had all the ladies chasing you when you wore this.”   
“A few.” He shyly nodded.  
“Thatta boy.” Gabriel patted him on the shoulder as he inspected the other suits he had with him. “Hey, do you live nearby? You were talking about an empty guest room.”  
“Oh yeah. It’s not too far away.”

You arrived at the dirty hotel with coffee in hand. It was too early in the morning, but the job never did sleep so here you were about to get Gabriel up for the day. Thankfully there weren’t as many people in the lobby today.  
“Here for Novak, room sixty-nine.” You said to the white haired man from yesterday.  
He swerved in his chair to face you. “Oh, yeah, yeah. Nice fella he is. He left a note.” He reached under the desk, digging through some papers before handing you a folded piece to you.  
“What?” You narrowed your eyes, unfolding it. It read ‘Hey Y/N, I moved 1.6 miles’ and then it had the address below followed by ‘xoxo Gabe the Babe’. “Really?” You rolled your eyes.  
Driving a few blocks over to the address, you thought it was a mistake or a joke until you found the street name and address number. Getting out of the car, you took in the massive mansion in front of you. “Seriously? How?” It stood on the corner with white exterior with fancy architecture, three floors and a grand doorway. You marched across the street and knocked on the door. Peering inside you could make out some shapes like furniture and stuff, but you didn’t see Gabriel.   
You stood up straight as a maid answered the door, holding the door open for you. “I’m sorry, I think I have the wrong address.” You apologized as you stepped a bit inside. Marble and fine woods made up the space with soaring walls that went up to a coffered ceiling.   
“Oh, come in.” A man wearing a striped rob appeared from the living area. “You must be Y/N. Gabriel told me about you.” He grinned, taking a sip from his coffee mug.  
“Gabriel? You mean he is actually here?” Your jaw almost dropped.  
“Yes. He’s upstairs in the guest bedroom. Probably lounging on the rooftop deck.” The man seemed friendly as he spoke to you.  
“Rooftop deck?” You coughed out.  
He just nodded, pointing up the stairs. You gave him your thanks as you went to the top floor. The stairs led to one door that opened into a huge apartment-like place. It had a small kitchen area with a dining set across from it. Not to mention the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that showed the rooftop deck and its multi-million dollar view of Manhattan. You gawked at the place, wishing you could live here.   
Soft music interrupted you as it lead you out onto the deck to find Gabriel lounging in a chair with newspaper in hand. His breakfast was spread out before him with steam coming off of the coffee.  
“You’re early.” He remarked from behind the newspaper.  
“Got a lead at the airport.” You informed him. “We got a hit on Snow White.”  
Gabriel folded up the newspaper, setting it aside as he spoke. “Wait, does that make you the evil queen? Do I get to be the huntsman then?” He watched as your expression became dark. “Oh, come on. I’m just messing with you. It’s a coded phrase that you decoded from a suspected Crossroads King communication in Barcelona.”   
You gave him a tight smile. “Look at you, you’re turning into an ‘A’ student.” Looking around you took in the million dollar views of the city. “You moved.”  
“Nicer than the other place, right?”   
“Definitely, didn’t have this view.” You commented, glaring down at him.  
“Relax, I didn’t con my way into this place. I went to the thrift store and looked around like you said to do and I met Chuck.” He explained, but it didn’t make things better.  
“The man in the robe.”  
He nodded. “And he was donating some expensive suits when we started talking. Turns out he is one of my favorite writers. Who knew?” Gabriel said cheerfully.   
“Yes, what are the odds.” You said through gritted teeth.  
“Chuck mentioned he had a guest room.” Gabriel smiled widely as he spoke, stopping as he saw your expression. “What? You said-”  
“I know what I said.” You snapped. “So you got all of this for seven hundred?”  
“Yep, but I help out you know. I’m such a giver.” He put a hand on his heart as he spoke.  
“Of course. Do you polish the silver and wash the cars?”  
“Are you mocking me now?” He feigned hurt.  
“I’m sorry, did I hurt your feelings?” You sassed at him, pouting your lips.  
“A little.”  
“Well, that’s too bad cause we got a case.” You told him, nodding towards the door.“Now put some clothes on and let’s go.” Pouting like a child, Gabriel got up and left. Taking a place at the table, you snatched a croissant from the plate, enjoying the delicious flavor.   
You weren’t left alone long as you saw Chuck in your peripheral view. He came to sit down across from you, still in his robe.  
You take a sip of the coffee, leaning back in the chair. “It’s perfect. The view, the guest room….even the frickin coffee is perfect.”  
Chuck chuckled. “Thanks.”  
“You know that isn’t some fashion accessory on his ankle. Gabriel is a felon.” You told him, making sure he clearly understood who Gabriel was.  
He nodded, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, well...I’m a writer...and I find that there is always more to a character than the surface of what you see.”  
You shook your head about to say something when you’re interrupted. “Oh, honey! I’m ready to go.” Gabriel called out.   
You gave Chuck a smile before heading down the stairs. At the bottom you found Gabriel in a clean cut black suit with a matching tie. To add to it, he had a black fedora hat that he flipped, smoothing it onto his head.  
“Huh? What do you think? Sexier than that orange jumpsuit, yeah?” He held out his arms, waiting for your opinion.   
“I don’t know. I’m starting to think that leaving the orange jumpsuit was a bad idea for you.” You remarked, heading to the door.  
“Oh come on, Y/N. Lighten up. I followed your rules.” Gabriel started playing with his hat by throwing it up in the air.  
“I feel like I’m in some weird alternate universe.” You shook your head, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Will you stop playing with the hat? We got a job to do. Come on! Let’s go!” You pointed to the door.  
“Ohhhh….you’re jealous.” He smirked over at you.  
“Excuse me?”  
“Got this nice house to call home, got the million dollar view upstairs, got the wardrobe to make me look priceless, and I got all of this for seven hundred dollars a month.” Gabriel rolled off. “You’re jealous...but uh...tell me….did I break any rules? If so send me back. I promise I’ll walk there myself.”  
You raised your voice.“Well then for starters-” You bit your tongue then, knowing and hating that he technically didn’t do anything wrong. You gritted your teeth. “I work hard and do my job well….I don’t even have a ten million dollar view of Manhattan.”  
“So you are jealous.” Gabriel snickered.  
You let out a heavy sigh. “You’re missing the point. I work hard and I can’t even begin to afford this. Yet, somehow you’re out of prison for a day and you get all of this.” You stretch your arms out.  
Gabriel nodded in understanding. “If you want I could see if Chuck has another spare bedroom.”  
“No, Gabriel. You see….this is what is gonna get you into trouble. This is the first step that leads you back to those schemes to get things and then leads to fraud, which is the reason why you were in prison to begin with.”  
“I’m pretty sure the second floor is free.” Gabriel murmured.  
“Get in the car!” You snapped. He held his hands up as he made his way to the door.

Walking through the airport, you spotted Jo who had a file in her hand. She turned her head, finding you and then strided over to the both of you. Her golden hair swept over her gray blazer covered shoulder as she moved quickly.  
“Who's that?” Gabriel perked up, giving her the once over with his shining eyes.  
“That’s Jo. Jo is my probie.”  
“Probie?” He arched an eyebrow at the word.  
You nodded. “Probationary agent. She does everything I don’t and she does it fantastically.” You slowed down as you got closer. “Hey.” You smiled at Jo, glancing over at Gabriel.  
“You must be Gabriel Novak.” Jo eyed the felon with reservation. “Nice hat.” Gabriel grinned widely at her comment.  
You cleared your throat, hoping to stop him before he got any ideas. “What do we got?” You looked at Jo.  
She handed over the file in her hand, showing you. “Tony Field. Customs flagged him coming from Spain in response to our Snow White alert.”   
“Customs working with us?” You dared to ask. They weren’t the ones who typically liked the FBI butting in.  
“Same old song and dance with them. He’s in their custody not ours.”  
“Less paperwork for me. What’s he carrying?”  
“Oh, you’re gonna love this one.” She gave a ‘come here’ motion with her finger and led the way through the airport. She showed you to a holding room for items that were flagged to be investigated. Sitting on top of a couple of tables were three plain blue suitcases. They were opened with dozens of Snow White books in them. Peering closer, you saw that they were in Spanish.  
“This is what triggered our alert? Actual Snow White books?” You picked one of them up, flipping through it. “Who is this guy?” You glanced over at Jo.  
“Some kind of rare book dealer.”  
“Anything wrong with his paperwork?”   
“Nope. He brought the same quantity of books last time he came through. Nothing out of ordinary. Each time he came through he declared them with no problem.”   
As you and Jo had your exchange, Gabriel picked up his own copy, flipping through it slowly. Bringing it up to his nose he sniffed it, but nothing appeared to be amiss.  
“Alright, Trickster. Are we wasting our time?” Your eyes met whiskey ones.  
“They aren’t limited runs or special editions. Can’t be worth much.” He remarked. “Even that dump of a place you took me to is more expensive than these.”  
You frowned. “So why go to all the trouble to fly them in?”   
“Now isn’t that the million dollar question.” Gabriel tried to see if there were any hidden pages, rubbing his fingers on the edges of the paper.   
“He is pretty nervous though for having all the proper documents.” Jo piped in.  
“I wanna talk to him.”   
“I’ll set it up.” Jo gave a short nod as she began to leave. “Hey, Y/N I’m grabbing some coffee, you want some?” She glanced over her shoulder at you.  
“Sure. Anything but decaf.” You smiled over at her.  
“Jo.” Gabriel called out as she neared the door. “I’ll take mine with extra cream and sugar.”  
Jo paused, staring over at Gabriel. “If you want coffee it’s right outside.” With that she exited, shutting the door behind her.  
“If I were you, I’d stop with all of that now.” You commented, rifling through the books some more, searching for anything you could have missed.  
“Oh, harmless flirting. It’s like a game.” He waved it off, thinking about how her butt looked in those pants.  
“Yeah, well this game ended before it began. Actually, she doesn’t even know that this game exists, too busy with other ones.”  
“Excuse me, but she loves the hat.” He flipped it in the air before putting it back on in one fluid motion.   
“Yeah, well she’d rather be wearing the hat.” You murmured before leaving the room, patting Gabriel’s shoulder on the way.  
“Oooohhhh.” He realized. 

You walked into the interrogation room, noticing Tony tapping at the table with his leg bouncing. He kept fidgeting in his seat with his eyes stuck to the floor. You approached him carefully, waiting until he looked up at you. “Y/N Y/L/N, FBI.” You nodded to the two guards in the room. They left quickly, leaving you alone with the book dealer.  
“FBI? They sure at kicking it up a notch.” Tony snorted, pushing his glasses up on his nose.  
“I hear you’re a book dealer.” You started.  
“Yes as I’ve told everyone else.” He pulled out his business card, pushing it into your hands. “My job is to import and sell rare books. Which I’ve stated many times.”  
You gave him a tight smile. “How rare can they be? You have three suitcases full, plus I’ve heard you brought more in before.”  
He let out a heavy sigh, dramatically rolling his eyes.“Do you want me to go to the crime lab? Help you dust for fingerprints?”  
“Haha. I get it. Think I’m telling you how to do your job.” You chuckled lightly. “So, Snow White in Spanish?”  
He narrowed his eyes at you. “It wasn’t created by Disney. There are stories that pre-date Steam Boat Willy.”  
“You mean like the tale about a white princess and seven knights? I have to admit I am a fan of the folklore classics rather than the newer versions of them.” He seemed surprised by your knowledge, nodding at your words. “What are the books for?” You sat down across from him on the table, knowing he was about to say something. That is until a large bulky man burst into the room with a briefcase in hand.  
He spoke in a gruff voice. “I’d appreciate it if you didn't talk to my client. You know the Constitution and all?” He pointed to the door leading out.  
You bit your lip as you headed out, knowing that you probably just lost the second lead you had. “I wonder how many stop lights you ran through to get here.” You muttered. Leaving, you walked down the hall, finding Gabriel talking to Jo. She seemed to be trying to suppress her irritation. “Where’s the customs inspector?” You called out.  
“Over there.” She pointed. “And look, Gabriel was right. Those books weren’t worth much.”  
You nodded, then walked over to the inspector. “Hey, why didn’t you tell me that he lawyered up? The second he does that I can’t talk to him.”  
The inspector was taken aback. “He didn’t call nobody.”  
“Then how did his lawyer know that-” You argued, before stopping yourself. That lawyer got there way too fast and if Tony didn’t call anyone…. “Shit.” You rushed back to the room, followed by the inspector, Jo, and Gabriel. Once you got there you found Tony slumped over the table with a needle sticking out of his neck.   
“I need paramedics in here now!” The inspector yelled as two guards followed him into the room.  
“No one checked the lawyer? Dammit!” You cried out your frustration. “Got a dead book dealer, killer lawyer, and a lot of worthless books.” You kicked the wall hard, not caring if you dented it.  
“Maybe we missed something.” Jo came up next to you, putting her hand on your shoulder. “Just take another look.”  
“Fine.” You grumbled.  
It didn’t take long for the paramedics to arrive on scene and the three of you went back to the room with the books. You tried going through the suitcases to see if there was something there, but instead your mind wandered back to the books. “Alright, so as a reformed professional counterfeiter, what would the Crossroads King want with these?” You slumped down in a chair at one of the tables.   
Gabriel was leaned over, running his fingers over the old paper as he thought about what you asked. “Published 1944, Madrid.” He read off with his whiskey eyes searching for clues. As his fingers worked over the paper, Gabriel noticed a folded over piece. “This is what he is after.”  
You hopped up off your seat and rushed over, followed by Jo. “Top sheet?”  
“More than that.” Gabriel grabbed a ruler, using it to divide the paper from the glue, exposing it’s full size. “This is a 1944 Spanish pressed parchment.”   
“And that’s what he wanted?” Gabriel nodded his head at your question. “Good. Now we got it.”  
“So, he’s gonna counterfeit something that was originally printed on paper like that.” Jo seemed impressed.   
“That’s what I would do. Perfect way to make it look like the real deal.” Gabriel added in.   
You took the sheet, folding it out to its full size, which was about tabloid size. “Tony made three prior shipments of these.”  
“Two blank pages per book is six hundred sheets.” Gabriel calculated. “Too many for paintings and not enough for currency.”  
“Bet our dead book dealer knew.” Jo muttered.  
Thinking quickly you spoke. “Where’s the wallet?”  
Jo went to a different table, searching through an evidence bag. “Right here.” She handed it over.  
You rifled through it, having an idea. “This is where he went before he left.” You threw down a ticket for the National Archives.

“Oh, yes. I do remember him.” The curator, at the National Archives, nodded at the picture you showed him. “He came by several months ago and then again last week.” He moved through the archives, looking for something. “This is what he came to see.” With white gloves he carried over a piece of paper. “The Spanish Victory Bond.” He laid it down on the table for you and Gabriel to look at. “He took several photos of it. Said he was gonna write a book about. Shame that he’s dead.” The curator frowned, stepping back as Gabriel got in for a closer look. “This bond does have a fascinating history.”  
“It’s a Goya.” Gabriel held it up with his own white glove covered hands, almost touching it with his nose as he took in the details of the bond.  
“Yes, beautiful, isn’t it?”  
You shuffled between them, unfolding the paper from the Snow White book. Gabriel set the bond back down and you then placed the Snow White paper on top. “Well look at that. A perfect fit.” You smiled over to Gabriel. “You’re starting to earn your seven hundred a month.”  
Gabriel picked up the bond again, glancing over at the curator. “You said it had a fascinating history. Care to elaborate?” He arched an eyebrow.  
“Sure. Well, it was issued during the war.” The curator explained, motioning to the bond as he spoke.  
“1944.” Gabriel chimed in.  
“Yes. The U.S. issued it to support the Spanish Underground in their battle against the Axis. Very few have ever been redeemed. There’s speculation that entire boxes were captured. Many are still hidden away in the caves of Altamira.” As he talked, Gabriel ran his finger over the paper, taking in that it said one-thousand on it. It was worth that then, but he wondered how much it would be worth now.  
“Whole boxes?” Your eyebrows shot up.  
“Yeah.” The curator nodded. “Boy, wouldn’t that be something? To find the lost ones.” He chuckled. “Too bad this is the only surviving copy.”  
Gabriel let out a sigh as his whiskey eyes took in the entire bond. “Except it’s a forgery.”   
Both the curator and your eyes shot to Gabriel. The curator panicked. “No! That’s-that’s not possible.”  
“What are you talking about?” You whispered over to Gabriel.   
“It’s the ink. This is iron-gall dye mixed to match the period colors, but it hasn’t dried yet.” Gabriel pointed to various parts. “You can still smell the gum arabic.” He stood up straight, lifting the bond up for the two of you to smell.  
You inhaled deeply, realizing he was right. You had to fight back a laugh at the curator’s expression. The curator didn’t seem to process it though as he shook his head. “No...um...this has been here since 1952.”  
“Sorry, bucko. It’s been here less than a week.” Gabriel shrugged, frowning over at him.

Later that night, you sat in the conference room at the FBI office with Sam, Jo, and Gabriel to talk about the case. Sam and Jo stood next to each other, looking over the bond, while Gabriel had his legs up on the table, leaning back in the chair.  
You paced around the table. “The first time, he takes a picture of the bond.” You thought out loud. “And the second time, he steals the original and replaces it with a fake. Can we confirm that?” You stopped, pointing at the bond.  
“The timed ink identification test puts the age of the bond at about six days, which is when Tony visited.” Sam answered.  
“We’re pulling surveillance video to back it up.” Jo added.  
You gave a small smile. “Fantastic. So, the question is why go to the trouble of making a really nice forgery on the right kind of paper just to stick back in the archives?”  
Gabriel raised his hand. “I think I may know, but answer me this. Is the bond still negotiable?”  
“It’s a zero option, meaning it never expires.” You nodded, then glanced over at Sam. “What’s it worth?”  
“Thousand dollar face value….” Sam took out a calculator. “...drawing nine percent interest…”  
“Compounded for sixty-four years.” Jo reminded him.  
Gabriel scrunched up his eyebrows, adding it in his head. “Two hundred and forty-eight thousand dollars.” Gabriel calculated. You all whipped your heads towards Gabriel, surprised he could do that in his head.  
“What he said.” Sam glanced down at the calculator in his hand, finding the same value that Gabriel had just said.   
“Definitely not chump change.” You folded your arms across your chest. “And he’s got six hundred sheets of this.”  
Jo glanced over at Gabriel, looking for the number value. He quickly did the math. “Hundred and fifty million, give or take.” Both Jo and Sam looked impressed.  
“He’d be a rich man if he could pass them off.” You pounded the table. “But it still doesn’t tell us why he’d take out the real bond and replace it.” Sam and Jo stared down at the paper, trying to come up with ideas.   
Meanwhile, Gabriel took out a sucker from his jacket pocket and popped it in his mouth. The cherry flavor tasted nice as he sucked on it, giving him time to think. “Of course.” Gabriel snapped his fingers. “Surprised I didn’t think of it sooner.” He chuckled. “What if he claimed he found boxes of the bonds?”  
“You mean the ones in the caves in Spain?” You thought back to what the curator had said.  
“Yeah, how would they be authenticated?”  
“They’d be taken to the place that has the only surviving copy and compared to it.” Your eyes lit up, realizing the Crossroads King’s plan.  
Gabriel took the sucker out, using it to point to the bond. “Exactly, which is already switched out with one that he made.”  
“So, they’re gonna match.” You clapped your hands together. “Oh, this is good.” You moved around the table towards some open files, ready to figure out where the materials would most likely be bought and see if you could trace it that way. Finally, you were close to getting your guy. “Alright let’s think about this.” Just as you said those words, your cell phone rang. You checked the caller I.D. and answered it, silently cursing yourself. “Anna.” You had a guilty expression on your face as you spoke. Understanding, Sam and Jo got up to leave the room. Gabriel didn’t catch on though as he stayed put, but Jo went around and pulled at his collar, dragging him out. “Hey. Would you believe me if I said I was just a block away?” You laughed lightly.  
“I get it, you lost track of time.” Anna let out a small sigh.  
“Please don’t be mad at me.” You frowned, hoping you could still make this up for her. Especially after all that she went through recently.  
“I’m not mad.” She promised and you knew she was telling the truth by the tone in her voice.  
“I promise that I’ll make it up to you, roomie.” You pleaded, regretting that you forgot about today. Anna had recently broken up with her boyfriend and so you made plans to go out and have fun.  
“It’s fine. A night in is just as good, if not better.” She paused. “So, how’s Gabriel? Still hot even after these past few years?” She giggled.  
“He’s a felon.” You reminded her, shaking your head.  
“And your point?”   
You desperately wanted to change the subject. It was only one time when you had a bit too much to drink that you had admitted that Gabriel was very handsome, but she’d never let it go. “Look, Anna, I’ll be there soon, okay?”  
You could tell that she was holding back her giggles as she spoke, trying to be more serious. “I’ll get the popcorn ready with some ice cream on the side. See you soon Y/N.”  
“Bye.” You hung up, tucking your phone away. Gazing through the conference glass walls, you saw Gabriel trying to have his arm around Sam’s shoulders, but the height difference was awkward. He spoke quickly to him, darting his eyes around as Jo was at her desk.   
Stepping out the room, you looked down at them from your higher view point. It was an interesting design in the office to have the conference room, your office, and the director’s office on a higher level. The open floor plan was nice, especially if you needed to get someone right away. All you had to do was yell and they’d be able to hear you.  
“Y/N?” Sam turned, staring up at you. Gabriel and Jo’s eyes followed as they each waited for you to say something.  
“Go home. We can deal with this tomorrow.”

Returning home was nice after a long day of work and Gabriel was glad that it wasn’t that dirty hotel place. As he opened the front door, he noticed that it was dark inside with a few lights on and he guessed that Chuck was either out or asleep. The man didn’t really need to work all that much now since his books became a T.V. series.   
As Gabriel walked in more, he took of his hat, throwing it up in the air before setting it on the railing post at the base of the stairs. He started to climb the stairs, wanting nothing more than a good night sleep before waking up early again.   
He stopped midway though as he heard something coming from the kitchen area. Slowly, Gabriel stepped back down the stairs, grabbing a cane that sat near the front entrance. He held it up like a sword as he moved to the back of the house where the kitchen was located.   
“I know you don’t like guns, but please tell you weren’t actually gonna use that as a weapon.” A voice called out. Through the light of the window, Gabriel could make out the outline of a man with a glass in hand.  
Gabriel put the cane down, turning the lights on. “What the hell, Balthazar? Sitting in the dark, drinking Scotch?”   
“Always thought of myself as the dark and mysterious type.” Balthazar smirked, getting up and hugging Gabriel. “It’s good to see you, mate.”  
“Likewise.” He pulled away. “You know, you can’t just help yourself right?” Balthazar waved him off, sitting back down to enjoy his drink. “How’d you get in?” His whiskey eyes scanned the room for any obvious signs of a break-in. Sure, he got a nice place to live at and now Balthazar had to screw it up.   
Balthazar rolled his eyes at Gabriel’s behavior. “Oh, complicated thing really.” He paused for dramatic effect. “I knocked. Introduced myself to your writer pal. I think he likes me, but not in a gay way or at least not yet.” He laughed.   
Gabriel shared a laugh with him, sitting down at the table. “Thanks for coming.”  
“Oh, please, stop. Of course I’m gonna come.” Balthazar smiled. “Can I see it?” Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows at him. “The tracker, I mean.”  
Gabriel lifted his foot up, pulling up his pant leg to reveal it. “Can you pick it?”   
Balthazar leaned forward to get a look before slumping back in his seat. “Do I look like a locksmith to you?” Balthazar took another sip of his drink. “Doubt they could even take care of it, but I think you already knew that.”  
Gabriel set his foot down. “Do you know where Kali is?”  
“Oh crap. Not this again.” He sighed. “I’m gonna need something stronger.” He went to get up, but Gabriel grabbed his arm.  
“Balthazar, do you know where she went?” His tone was serious.  
Balthazar sat back down. “Nope. Like a ghost she just..” He clapped his hands together, making a whooshing sound. “..disappeared.”  
“Well, can you keep looking?” Gabriel pleaded with desperate looking whiskey eyes.  
Balthazar stirred his drink in his hand, watching the ice cubes. “If I have to, I suppose.”   
“Thanks.” Gabriel let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding in. “I have another thing that I need your help with.” He stood up, grabbing the copy of the bond from his pocket. “Do you happen to know who created this?”  
Balthazar took it in his other hand. “It’s very well done.” He peered closer, taking in the finer details. He didn’t speak for a couple moments and Gabriel got worried that he wouldn’t be able to help him. Then he spoke suddenly. “That’s a bit weird.”  
“What?”   
“Looks like the person who did this signed it...otherwise...that’s some weird added detail.”  
“Show me.”   
“There’s a little devil pitchfork on the peasant man’s pants. See for yourself.” Balthazar set the bond on the table, giving Gabriel a chance to see it. “Only one person I know who likes to sign with that.” He murmured, taking another sip of his drink, letting the burn travel down his throat. “Crowley.”


	3. Crowley

Beep! Beep! Beep! With a slap to your alarm clock, the beeping stopped, taking this abuse from you every morning. You rubbed your eyes, getting the sleepers out as you slowly stood up from your warm bed. Meandering into your bathroom, you turned on the sink and ran your hands under the faucet, waiting till the hot water came to wash your face. It was such a daily thing you didn’t even have to think about it anymore.   
After drying your face, you dug into your closet, hoping to find something freshly pressed to wear today. Anna spoiled you, as she actually enjoyed the chore of laundry. Finding a navy blazer and matching pants, you grabbed those, then buttoned on a clean white shirt. You checked yourself in the mirror before heading towards the narrow stairs to go down for possible breakfast before work.   
If there was one thing you didn’t like about the house, it was the narrow stairs, but the house was jammed between two others, like most in the city. The price wasn’t bad for the square footage and since you had Anna to split the costs, it worked out fine.  
Just as your foot landed on the first step, your phone rang violently in your room. You hurried towards it, though without your coffee, you weren’t that fast. “Yeah, this is Y/N.”   
“It’s Sam.” From the tone of his voice, whatever he had to say didn’t sound good. “Novak’s ankle is activated. Is he with you?”   
You immediately stiffened, your shoulders tense. “No.” Your fists clenched. “I’m coming in.” You threw the rest of your stuff together in your briefcase, charging down the stairs. You took two at a time as your mind raced with places that Gabriel could be.   
“It’s okay. I got Jo on it.” Sam quickly said. “We’re pulling the location.”  
You ignored his words, calling out for your roommate. “Anna, I gotta go. Sorry about breakfast, but Gabriel’s outside of his radius.” Just as you turned the corner, you spotted Gabriel and Anna leaned over the coffee table in the small living room. Their laughter cut short as you stood on the landing with wide eyes.   
“Agent Y/L/N? You still there?” Sam’s voice filled the silence as the two of them stared up at you. Gabriel opened his mouth, then closed it, knowing better. He gave you a shrug with a charming smile.  
You gave a tight smile back. “Novak is with me.”   
“You sure?” He questioned, not sounding convinced.  
“Yep. I’m staring at him right now.” You assured Sam, even though he kept talking about pulling the location and Jo. “Or should I say glaring?” You muttered after ending the call, going down the rest of the stairs. If Sam didn’t believe you, he would once he found Gabriel’s location.  
“Morning Y/N.” Anna said cheerfully, holding a steaming mug in her hand.  
“Looking good, agent.” Gabriel shot you a wink as you walked into the living room.  
You narrowed your eyes at both of them, but focused your attention on Gabriel. “You’re in my house?”  
“Yeah. I came to talk to you.” He stated like it was the most normal thing in the world. “I gotta say though, I’m disappointed that you hid this little firecracker from me.” Gabriel winked over at Anna, who giggled. “Anna is such an amazing roommate. Trust me, I’d know with prison and all that.”  
“Yes, prison. Which is where I’m considering sending you back to.” You shot back, then breathed in, trying to suppress your anger. “Would you get off my couch?”  
“Why? Is this your spot?” He moved, peering down at the cushion. “Doesn’t have your name on it.”   
You opened your mouth, ready to fire back a comment, but Anna held up a hand. “Y/N, relax. We’re just talking.” She explained calmly.  
“Talking? How’d you even get here?” You nearly shouted at Gabriel.  
He wasn’t phased by your outburst, instead snickering at you. “They have these things called cabs.”  
“Oh, now you’re gonna be a smartass.” You hissed. “You activated your tracker.” You pointed towards his ankle. “You’re in my house, on my couch, and flirting with my roommate?”  
“It’s only flirting if it was working.” Gabriel mused. “Did it work?”  
“I was feeling it a bit.” Anna confessed.  
You stared at them as they had their little exchange, not fully believing that this was really going on. Anna didn’t seem the least bit cautious about having a felon in the house, and Gabriel appeared to be right at home.   
“Hey, Y/N. Did you really do a background check on Anna before you let her move in?” Your eyes widened as you looked at Anna, who only shrugged back. “Wow. You sure are thorough.” Gabriel chuckled lightly, leaning back in his spot.   
“You told him?”  
Anna waved it off, not intimidated by your icy eyes. “Oh, he said he wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to leave you in this empty place by yourself. I think it’s sweet.”  
“I think it’s very thoughtful of me.” Gabriel agreed.  
You grabbed your phone out of your pocket. “I think that you’re going back to prison.” You started dialing.  
Gabriel slightly panicked, sitting up straighter now. “I know who the Crossroads King is.”   
“Should’ve started with that.” You muttered.  
“His name is Crowley.” Gabriel watched as you put your phone away, ending the call. He breathed out in relief before going on. “Though his real name is Fergus Roderick MacLeod.” He chuckled. “Doesn’t take an agent to figure out why he picked a different name."  
“Who is he?” You got closer, now interested.   
“An art restorer, one of the best in the world. Sadly, his personal work never took off. He’s fantastic at Goya restorations.” Gabriel explained, watching you take it all in. “That’s what the bond is. It’s him showing how amazing he is.”   
“I like the theory.” You nodded. “How do we prove it?”  
“He signed it.” Gabriel said with smugness leaking through.  
“I think we would’ve noticed a signature.”   
“Show her.” Anna pointed to the bond that sat on the table. You didn’t even notice it until now.   
Gabriel slid over on your couch, patting the seat next to it. You trudged over, sitting down as he spoke. “Look at the pants of the Spanish peasant.” He handed over a small magnifying glass, which you hesitantly took. “What do you see?” Gabriel asked as he watched you bend over, peering down at the peasant’s pants.   
“A devil’s pitchfork.” You breathed out, lifting it up in the air. “I mean, it could be.” You squinted your eyes. “Could just be a mistake.”  
“Oh, trust me, the only mistake here is him deciding to sign it. Gives us the chance to find him.” Gabriel smirked but then he realized you still weren’t convinced. “This bond is a masterpiece and that little pitchfork is his way of staking claim to it. Saying that he did it and that he is that good.” He jabbed a finger at the bond that was still in your hands. “I mean if I forged this, heck, I’d sign it. I mean the forgeries you caught me on, I signed them.”  
You peered over at him. “Where?”  
He held up his hands. “I’m not telling. Don’t wanna spoil the game. You know like I-Spy.” You gave Anna a ‘look-what-I-have-to-deal-with’ face. “By the way, Crowley is doing a church restoration on Third Street. We can pop in for a chat before we head the the office.”  
You thought it over, calculating the time, and how Gabriel was already with you. “Fine.” You handed him back the magnifying glass and bond. “Meet me in the car.” You told him, but Gabriel stayed seated as you turned. “I was gonna say goodbye to Anna.”  
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He awkwardly stood up, grabbing his jacket. “It was nice to meet you, sweetheart.” He shook her hand.  
“Yeah. Good to finally meet you after all these years.” Anna smiled back, watching Gabriel as he left. Once the door shut, Anna squealed. “He called me sweetheart.”  
“What’s wrong with you?”   
“Nothing.” She looked slightly taken aback. “He’s cute and charming….oh, I could make a list….” Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she spoke.  
“Yeah, well stop.” You held out hand, making a disgusted face.  
“Oh, sorry.” She apologized, then smirked. “He’s yours.”  
“That’s righ-no. I’m his handler. Nothing more.”  
“Well, you have fun, handling him then.” She teased as you got up from the couch.  
“I hate you.” You grumbled.  
“Sure you do. Just like you hate that tight ass he’s got!” She yelled out as you slammed the door, hoping Gabriel didn’t hear her.

The church that Crowley was supposed to be at had the traditional gothic style with a tower capped by a dome and the double doors framed by lancet arches. The exterior had elaborate decorations of crosses and other gothic architecture devices all in a sienna color. While, the exterior wasn’t all that spectacular, once you both got inside, the interior surprised you. It had a range of art pieces that enveloped the walls. Groin vaults lifted up the sky blue ceiling that alluded to Heaven.  
Although with all the beauty the church had within it, the scaffolding was an utter eyesore. It was a clear mark for where Crowley was supposed to be. Men in painters coveralls carried on their work with bent backs as they squinted at the walls to make sure it was done right.  
“This is the place?” You studied the space as you both stood at the end of the main aisle.  
“Yep.” Gabriel smiled at being surrounded by art once again.  
Just before you could get in any further, a priest waddled down the main aisle. “You can’t come in. We’re closed for restoration.” His voice echoed in the large area, but that didn’t hide the strict and firmness of it.  
“Sorry Father, we-” You started, turning on your heels to the exit.  
“Could we just…” Gabriel quickly put a hand on your shoulder, giving you a pleading look. “Could we just have a moment?” He didn’t give you a chance to respond. “Thanks.” His eyes left you, staring over at the priest. “Father, I need a sec.” He held out a hand, giving the priest a ‘come here’ motion.  
Your eyes widened as you watched Gabriel lead the priest away, out of earshot. You shook your head at him, not believing that he was really gonna talk to a priest. You swerved in your spot, jamming your hands in your pockets. Maybe he needed confess.   
Gabriel peered over at you before ducking his head down, speaking in a hushed voice. “Please, Father.” He placed each of his hands on the priest’s shoulders. “My best friend is having a crisis of the soul. She’s a married woman, but….she has this handsome young gentleman at work. Hazel eyes and Fabio hair.” The priest nodded, completely understanding the situation. “A very sexual, adventurous man. And she’s being tempted.” Gabriel thought for a moment, then added. “More than tempted. I have explicit details.”  
The priest shook his head in disappointment. “It’s getting more common these days.” He glimpsed over at you as you stared up at the painted ceiling. “Unfortunately very common.”  
Gabriel quickly nodded, giving him a small pat. “And I wanna help her before she ruins her life and her career.” His whiskey eyes wandered over to your figure. “She has a lot of faults. Could make a whole list, but I really want to help her. And Y/N is a spiritual woman, so I figured this would be the best place to go.” Both him and the priest glanced at you, you smiled back at them, unsure of what exactly Gabriel was up to.  
“This is the City of Churches. We’re closed. I’m sorry.” The priest dismissed, pulling away. “Surely, you could go-”  
“She got married here.” Gabriel added, hoping that would save it.  
He sighed heavily. “Five minutes.”  
“Oh, thank you. Thank you, Father.” Gabriel gave him a small bow as he walked away to join you. “Sorry about that. We got five minutes here.” He informed you, taking your arm and pulling you to the art.  
“Did you just lie to a priest?” You harshly whispered.  
“Do you think Sam is attractive?” Gabriel asked back.  
You contemplated for a moment. “Sure. I’m not blind.” You shrugged nonchalantly.   
“‘Kay. We’re good.”  
You followed Gabriel as he scanned over the paintings before stopping in front of one. It was half covered in plastic, but you could still make out the figures. A woman and a man stood on either side of Christ, who had a dove above him.  
“Amazing.” Gabriel breathed out.  
“Yeah. Not bad.” You admitted, though you didn’t completely understand art. “So if this Crowley...or Fergus guy is as good as you say, how come I’ve never heard of him?” Gabriel got closer, stepping up on a wide step ladder and pulled back the plastic to reveal more of the artwork.  
“You only know the guys who get caught.” He muttered, running his eyes over the work. “You know the second best criminals.”  
“What about you then?” You smirked.  
Gabriel scoffed at you, shaking his head. “You know, there are times when there are exceptions to the rule.”  
“Uh huh.” You scanned the surrounding, feeling like a watchdog.  
“Look. A little devil pitchfork.” Gabriel squinted, hovering his finger over it. “Seems a bit sinful.”  
You rolled your eyes before walking over to him. “Where?” You stood shoulder to shoulder with him on the wide step ladder.  
“Right here.” Gabriel took out his magnifying glass, letting you peer through it to check. “See. A pitchfork.”  
You moved your eye closer, not fully seeing what he was pointing out. Mostly because it was stretched out and more geometric than the one in the bond. “Maybe.”  
“What do you mean maybe? It’s a pitchfork. It isn’t some coincidence.” Gabriel argued.  
“Can I help you two?” A striking Scottish voice called out.   
You both twisted your heads around, looking like two kids who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. The man before you wasn’t wearing the traditional painter’s uniform as he had a long black coat on with black dress pants. His beard was neatly trimmed with dark wicked eyes to compliment it. He stalked forward, staring at Gabriel. “You look familiar.” Gabriel gave him a cheshire smile as you both stepped away from the painting, meeting him in the middle. “Perhaps it was on T.V. or something of that sorts. Like a most wanted webpage.”   
“Gabriel Novak.” He stuck a hand out.  
He glared at the hand, keeping his firmly to his side. “Forgive me if I don’t wish to shake hands with an art thief.”  
Gabriel put his hand down. “I wasn’t arrested for art theft.”  
“Not arrested.” He agreed. “But you were known for being quite the Renaissance criminal. So you can understand why I’d be concerned about having you here. In my space.” He glowered over at you. “You are?”  
“Just a friend.”   
“Well then...friend...this church is closed. Be on your way now.” He gave you a little wave.  
Gabriel walked by him with his hands held up to prove he was clean as you followed. When you passed him, you paused for a moment to look back at him before moving on.  
As you caught up to Gabriel, he whispered in your ear. “Did you see it?”  
“Okay. I’m curious now. We’ll check him out.” You told him, smiling as you approached the priest.   
“Listen to the spirit and not the flesh.” He gave you a stern look.  
“Of course, Father. I’ll do that.” You nodded, before glancing over at Gabriel. “What was that about?”

Back at your office, you sat down at your cluttered desk. You made mental note to clean it up some time, hopefully after this case. You began to look some things over, like getting to know Fergus more, but your office phone rang. You answered it promptly, listening to the voice on the other side.  
Your heart dropped at their words, muttering a ‘thank you’ before hanging up. Straighten up in the chair and breathing to help calm the nerves, you called Gabriel into your office. He gave you a sweet smile as he strolled in. “Shut the door.” You stated, even though it didn’t really matter as the entire wall was made of glass. If anything it’d keep the noise out. Only the side walls that connected to other offices were solid.   
“Am I in trouble?” Gabriel asked lightheartedly.   
“Somewhat.” You let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Crowley is leaving the country. He booked a flight through a charter company in Barcelona for the nineteenth.”   
“One week?” His voice faltered a bit.  
“Yes. Probably because he saw you there. Tipped him off and now he is leaving.” You tried to restrain yourself from yelling at him, but it was mostly his fault.  
“He’s going to Spain. That’s something.” Gabriel argued. “Is there any connection to the bonds? We could use that.”  
You shook your head angrily. “Crowley is thorough. He keeps himself out of the fire.” You eyed the con-man. “I already have all my good agents on this.” You stood up, walking over to the windows to look at the city view. You let yourself enjoy it for a moment before turning back to him. “We have one week, Gabriel. If we lose him….if we lose him on the nineteenth...you’re back in. I can’t save you once you go back.”  
Gabriel’s eyes widened at your words. If he lost Crowley, he’d be back in prison with no hope of getting out. At least not until his sentence was over. This was his shot and he possibly just blew it.

After the long day Gabriel had, he returned home, letting the door slam behind him as he walked in. He paused for a moment, smiling, before strutting over to the dining room table. As he got closer, he threw his hat across the table like a frisbee. A hand caught it before it could go over the edge.  
“You’re late.” Balthazar spoke up, trying the hat on for himself. It didn’t fit quite right, although that didn’t stop him from trying to make it work.  
“Hey. Give me a break, I’m busy working.” He held his hands out.  
“So?” Balthazar quipped, tipping the hat at his friend.  
Gabriel straddled on of the chairs as he leaned his chin on the back of it. “We were right about Crowley.”   
“Of course. How could we not be?” His friend scoffed.   
“Yeah, well I did a stupid thing. Something impulsive…and he saw me.” Gabriel admitted, not even bothering to peer up at Balthazar, who was probably rolling his eyes. “I have one week to link the bonds to him.”  
“One week or what?” Balthazar scooted his chair closer, suddenly being serious.  
“I go back.”  
“Oh! How horrible!” He dramatically spoke, losing all seriousness that he had once had. “You know orange isn’t your color.”   
“Yeah, well…” Gabriel let it sink in. Silence took hold for a moment before he glanced over at his friend again. “Did you find anything about Kali?”  
“Ah. This.” Balthazar rolled his eyes at the change of subject before reaching into pocket, pulling out a photo. “Apparently she isn’t that sneaky.” He slapped the photo down onto the table.  
Gabriel stared at the photo. It was Kali for sure in black and white grain with a hand gripping her shoulder. Balthazar smiled, pleased with himself at the ability to find it, but annoyed that Gabriel continued to pine after her. Looking closer, Gabriel saw a large ring on the man’s hand and Kali’s eyes were angled to be looking at the man’s face.   
“I may lose her again.” He murmured softly.  
“Oh, that’s quitter talk.” Balthazar scoffed. “Plus, aren’t you forgetting the whole ‘thank you Balthazar for finding my love’?”  
“Sorry, but he found her too.” He tossed the photo back over to Balthazar. “He found her too.” Gabriel repeated.

Cars honked and pigeons cooed as you walked down a New York street with Gabriel by your side the next day. He was dressed in another fancy slick suit with a gray wool coat over it to keep him warm. You weren’t much different, but your taste much cheaper. It was a bit breezy, which made everything cooler.   
Gabriel kept up his pace as he glanced over at you, trying to figure out how you’d react. “You know how you told me to give up on Kali?”  
You peered over at him for a moment. “Yes, I remember you promising that.” Suddenly, he pulled out a piece of paper and thrusted it into your hands. You slowed down, unfolding it, then stopped once you saw it was Kali. Only her face made up the picture and her eyes were looking to the side. “Gabriel.” You sighed. “You’re putting me in a tough spot here.”  
“These were taken four days ago in San Diego at an ATM.” Gabriel spoke quickly, jabbing a finger at the photo. “She’s going by the name Kali Purdue. You know what ‘Purdue’ means in French?”  
“Yeah.” You looked up to find somber whiskey eyes. “It means lost.” You folded the photo back up, shoving it against his chest and marched away. Part of you wondered if Kali meant she was lost or if Gabriel was actually the one who was.   
“It makes you wonder, though, right?” Gabriel jogged up next to you, his hair getting swept back in the wind. “Is she lost to me? Is she lost without me?”  
“Stop it.” You barked out, holding a hand out, hoping to block him.  
“I just need a couple of days.” Gabriel pleaded, holding the picture at you. “Okay? Just after this Crossroads King thing.” You kept your eyes straight ahead as you felt whiskey ones pleading next to you. “You know, a couple of days to go to San Diego. Send a agent with me, hell, you can come with me.”  
“Stop.” You finally turned to him, halting in your tracks. “Stop it.”   
“You can-”  
“Stop it.” Your voice louder and firmer this time. “How many times are you gonna risk your life for this girl?” You angrily asked. “I hate to break it to you buddy, but she dumped you. Left you to rot in your cell.”  
“No.” Gabriel shook his head, clutching the photo in his hand.   
You narrowed your eyes at him. “Exactly, what is your plan if you find her?”   
Gabriel opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He bit his lip, pausing, then opened it again, but he couldn’t find the words. Or perhaps he couldn’t find the words to make you understand. He let out a sigh, shaking his head. His mouth hung open with his tongue running over his teeth. You gave him a pointed look as he stood without anything to say.  
“I know there is more to our story.” He started. “She disappears without a real word. No. That’s not our ending. That’s not how it’s supposed to go.”  
“Come on, Gabriel.” You shake your head, feeling pity for him. “We’ve all been there. I’ve been there many times, but you gotta let it go.” You burrow more into your jacket. “It gets easier with time.”  
“Not if she’s the one.” He shot back. You let out a heavy sigh, knowing he wouldn’t let it go. “I wanted to tell you, doesn’t that count for something? I could’ve just kept it a secret.”  
“It doesn’t make it better.” You huffed. “We made a deal. And part of that was to let this go. You have something good going on right now. Do you really want to risk it all?”  
Gabriel shifted his weight on his heels, licking over his lips as he thought of what you said. He let out a dry chuckle. “You’re right.” He ran his fingers through his honey brown locks. “Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m a smart guy. I should know when I’ve been dumped, huh?” He gave you a smile, but it didn’t reach up to his eyes. Slowly he turned away, walking ahead. You followed him.  
It was only a few blocks until you reached the building. Just as he was about to head inside, Gabriel noticed a familiar head of hair peeking out of a group of smokers at the side of the entrance. He stopped suddenly, making you almost run into him. You arched an eyebrow at him.  
“I’m gonna grab a quick smoke. I’ll meet you up there.” He glanced over at the group, huddled like penguins in the cold.  
“You smoke?”  
“Yeah. It’s a nasty prison habit. I’ve been trying to quit.” He admitted, shrugging his shoulders.  
“Okay, but I will be monitoring your anklet. No funny business.” You gave him a look.  
“Aye, aye.” He smiled, then turned towards the group, weaving his way through. Finally, he found who he was searching for and went up to him. “Got an extra?” Gabriel asked as he stood next to Balthazar.   
“Sure, but careful. These things will kill ya.” He opened a case of them. “Although these filters, they’re good.” Balthazar winked. “Not me though. I tear ‘em off.” He shifted his eyes at the FBI agents around him, making sure they weren’t really listening.  
“Why are you here?” Gabriel leaned over. “You don’t smoke.”  
“What am I supposed to do? Fire off a flare gun or scale the building?” He retorted, eyeing the cigarette in Gabriel’s hand.  
“You tear off the filter?”   
“Yeah.” He nodded, then disappeared into the crowd.  
A few minutes after he left, Gabriel went up to his office desk, sitting down with the cigarette still in his hand. He studied it for a moment, then broke the filter off. From there he carefully teared it apart, unrolling a tiny piece of paper that reminded him of those found in fortune cookies. He smiled at the address that was written on it, knowing that it would lead him to Crowley.  
Meanwhile, you sat at the edge of your chair in your office, with your elbows digging into the desk as your hands cupped your face. You stared out the glass doors, trying to think of ways to stop Crowley from leaving in a week. Time was ticking and even your best agents had yet to get anything.  
A knock at your door interrupted your thoughts. “I found Crowley.” Gabriel held up a thin sheet of paper. “There’s a warehouse down by the docks.” He started, swaggering over to your desk and giving you the sheet. “Crowley runs it through a shell corporation out of Guatemala.”  
“We didn’t know about this.” You stared at the address. “How’d you get it?”  
“I don’t think you rely on rumor as much as I do.”  
You agreed with that, you typically went with facts or things that had more merit to them. Tossing your blazer on, you stood up. “Let’s go.” 

Seagulls flew overhead as you pulled up to the docks. Warehouses surrounded you, built up like a small city, a city made of metal sheets with wavy grooves on them and discoloration from rust. Windows were fitted into random spots, mostly high up to let light in and keep wandering eyes out.   
There were different groups of men around the place, one was a group of fishermen loading their stuff into their warehouse. You paid them no attention as you found the place that the address matched. Three men stood outside, wearing leather jackets and dark clothing. Two of them appeared to be play fighting as they had their fists up.  
Silently, the two of you snuck along the building. About halfway you stopped, pressing your backs against the side of the warehouse, trying to stay hidden. Gabriel put his ear against the metal sheet exterior. “You hear that?” He could make out some sort of thumping noise.  
“Hear what?” You turned your head, pressing your ear to the cold metal. Perhaps it was the birds or the water nearby, but you couldn’t figure out the sound he was talking about.   
“That rhythmic….” He moved his hand up and down quickly to make it match the sound. “Listen.” You listened more carefully now, hearing pressing and more thumping. “It’s a printing press. Damn it, Y/N, that’s a press.” Gabriel gazed over at you. “He’s printing bonds right now. You can hear it.”  
“How long till they’re done?” You inquired, taking out your phone.  
“A multicolored print as complicated as the Goya…..I mean test proofs and ink formulation….not to mention perfect registration. It’s gonna take him days.” Gabriel grew excited, he could get this case done and then search for Kali.   
You dialed your phone. “Jo.”  
“Yeah, Y/N?” She answered at the first ring.  
“I need recording equipment down at this warehouse immediately.”   
“Sure then.” She clicked off, getting to work.

Later, back at the office you had the tape playing, listening to it again. You stopped the playback glancing over at Gabriel, who stood across the conference table from you. “Okay. Crowley is our guy, but we still don’t have enough for a warrant.”  
“We know the bonds are there. Just open the door.” Gabriel said, like it was the easiest thing to do.  
You scoffed. “Sure we could, but there’s this thing called Warrant Law.” You grabbed the book off a bookcase you kept in the conference room and slid it across the table. “Try reading it some time.” You crossed your arms. “Right now all I’ve got is some sounds coming out of a warehouse and no way to link the bonds to him.” You sighed, running your hand over your face. You paused, thinking for a moment. “I need to talk to your friend.”   
“Friend?” Gabriel arched an eyebrow at you.  
“Oh, don’t play coy with me, Gabriel.” You stared at him. “The guy who gave you a cigarette.”   
“Oh that?” He crossed his arms, getting defensive. “Pfft. Hardly a friend. He just gave me-”  
“What? You think I’m an idiot?” You cut him off. He closed his eyes, sighing. Scratching the back of his neck, he didn’t dare look you in the eye. “I have to know how he connected Crowley to the warehouse.” His head swayed a bit, thinking over his options. “Come on, Gabriel. You gotta trust me.”  
Whiskey eyes observed you. A beat skipped before he answered. “Okay.” Gabriel knew Balthazar would hate him. “Okay. I’ll bring you to him. First thing tomorrow.” His eyes went back down to study the table.   
“Good.” 

Laying on the couch that night, Gabriel studied over Warrant Law. The bound book was heavy in his lap as he had stayed up all night reading it. As he thought over the case, he drummed his fingers against the hardcover, looking down at his anklet. If he couldn’t solve this, then he’d be back in the slammer. Any chance of finding Kali would be gone.  
An idea occurred to him. Quickly he grabbed some clothes and found a set of keys for one of the cars that Chuck owned. Thankfully, he didn’t have to bribe or steal one of them as Chuck gave him his pick of the expensive vehicles. The sun wasn’t even out yet when he drove away from the house.  
Meanwhile, you were sleeping peacefully in your bed. Somehow your mind had went silent with thoughts about your current case and let your drift off. Though, it quickly became a rude awakening as your phone sounded off, buzzing on your nightstand. Your eyelids hesitantly opened and your hand reached up to grab it, taking a few times to find it.  
“Yeah?” You yawned. At Sam’s words, you woke up. “Damn it.” You threw yourself back against the bed before charging to your closet to get dressed.  
As you worked on getting ready to track down Gabriel again, he had arrived at the warehouse. He pulled the car off to the side, so it wouldn’t get damaged and then got out of it. Two men were leaning against the warehouse door, keeping an eye out.  
Gabriel pulled out a camera, flashing pictures of the building and then the men. “What is this?” One of them shouted out. Gabriel didn’t stop as he kept the pictures coming.  
“Hey!”   
“Hi bucko.” Gabriel waved back.  
“Hey! What’re you doing?” A third man came out of the shadows from the right. He moved closer to the trickster and the other two men followed his lead.  
Gabriel ignored their protests, taking all the pictures he wanted.   
“You can’t be here.” The third grunt, with a thick dark beard barked out.  
“Oh.” Gabriel gave them a innocent look. “I’m taking pictures for my photography class.” They ran up to him, the one with the beard grabbing at his camera. “Need pictures of rusty metal.”  
The others held his arms back as the group leader looked him over. “Take him in.” They didn’t really have to drag him as Gabriel walked willingly with them. Though, they did shove him through the door.   
Getting a good look around, Gabriel saw the total process. Snow White books were neatly stacked and counted before having the page in them cut out. A large printing press was housed in the center of the room. They lead him towards a glass encased room, probably Crowley’s office as it had fine furniture in it.   
“Juliet! Go get Crowley.” The dark bearded man called to a stunning raven-haired woman. She gave a pout at having to do such a minor job, but left anyways to get her boss. Then when they got close, the man opened the glass door and his two buddies shoved Gabriel inside.   
Gabriel backed away from the door with his hands up, watching them pull it shut.   
Not a moment later, Crowley came around the corner with Juliet at his side. “What the bloody hell is going on?” As he spoke Gabriel used the distraction to go and lock the door. However, Crowley caught what he was doing, rushing over to the door. He was too late though, pulling at the doorknob with all his strength, but it didn’t budge. “Why the hell did you bring him inside?” His voice was dangerously low as he stalked over to the three men.  
“He was taking pictures.” The bearded man explained.  
“Open the door, boy.” Juliet purred, tapping the glass.  
“I think I’ll take my chances.” Gabriel smiled back.  
Crowley snapped his head around to one of his other men. Giving him a cold deadly look and the grunt was off. “Feds are on their way.” He narrowed his eyes at the trickster.  
Gabriel walked around the solid mahogany desk, knocking on the wood. “Nice.” He fell down on the oversized posh chair, putting his feet up on the desk. “You know, you shouldn’t have signed the bonds.”  
“I don’t know what you mean.” Crowley regained his posture.  
“Trust me. I’m very familiar with vanity myself. She can be a cruel mistress.” Gabriel smirked, putting his hands behind his head.  
“I’m going to kill you.” Crowley promised, then added. “I hope whatever they’re giving you is worth it.”  
“It is.” Gabriel gave a small nod.  
Suddenly, sirens could be heard from outside. Dozens of cars could be heard approaching. Crowley frantically looked around, settling on Gabriel, watching as he lifted up his pant leg to show off his anklet. The light on it glowing a red to show he was out of his radius.  
“You did this? You bastard.” Crowley seethed.  
Outside you got out of your car, smiling as you spoke. “Gentlemen, we have a fugitive hiding in the building.” More cars than you could count surrounded the exterior of the place with more on the way. You took out your gun, knowing Crowley might not go down willingly. “Knock down those doors.”  
SWAT went to each possible entrance with guns ready. With a swift hit of the battering ram, the doors fell open. Agents called out orders, as the men inside threw up their hands in defeat. It was a quick takeover as more SWAT member went inside.  
Crowley stood in the mess of it all, with his mouth hung open as he watched the place be destroyed by agents. All of his men now kneeled on the floor with their hands behind their backs. While, Gabriel sat in the glass office, wishing he had popcorn to go with the scene before him.  
You walked in not long after the takedown with Jo trailing behind you. “This is what we call exigent circumstance.” You smiled, passing the men and equipment for the bond forgery. “It allows us to pursue a suspect onto private property without needing a warrant.” You stopped a couple feet away from the mastermind behind this all, Crowley. “And to seize any and all evidence that has been discovered in plain view, regardless of the connection to the original crime.” You finished, eyeing him. “Hey. Remember me, friend?” You chuckled. “Oh and here’s your lawyer.” You patted the man who you saw at the airport before.  
You let Jo cuff him as you walked towards the glass encased office, where Gabriel was leaning against the desk. He was taking a sip of some expensive wine, smacking his lips together as he took in the taste.   
As you got closer, he opened the door, inviting you in. “You know. You’re not really good at this whole escaping thing.”  
“What can I say?” He shrugged, grinning. “Wine?”  
“French?”  
He nodded. “You know you should arrest me.” He pointed out, taking another sip of it.  
“I’ll let the wine bottle go, but you are a fleeing suspect.” You marched forward, then something caught your eye. “Is that the original Victory bond?”   
“Why, yes.” Gabriel feigned acted, looking over at the open safe. “Yes, it is.”  
“Weird that he’d leave a safe open like that.” You chuckled.  
“Weird indeed.” He agreed, holding out the bottle for you.   
You shook your head, hopping up onto the desk. Gabriel joined you as he continued to drink away the wine. “You know this makes it three to zero.”  
“Maybe, I’m not trying hard enough.” You both smiled at that.

The next day was quiet for the most part. The case was done and you were off filing the last of the paperwork. Gabriel was in his robe, taking in the view on the rooftop, relaxing to the sounds of the city.  
He heard someone come out, but he didn’t think you’d be done yet. “Can’t beat that view.” You walked over to him.   
“Coffee?” His whiskey eyes turned to you, capturing the glow of the sun in them.  
“Sure.” You sat down at the outdoor table. “Italian roast?”  
Gabriel gave a look like he was offended, then sat down across from you. He poured the steaming coffee out into two mugs for you and him. “Heard you’re going on a vacation.”  
“Yeah. I’ll be back in a week.” You told him, inhaling the delicious smell of your drink.  
“Still wearing that same outfit.”  
“Yeah. It works for me.” You glared at Gabriel as he laughed at you.   
He stopped, growing serious. Silence filled the space for a bit before Gabriel grew the courage to ask. “Did they make a decision?”  
You nodded as you swallowed down the coffee. Gabriel leaned over the table, watching as you pulled out something from your purse. “Figured if we didn’t, you’d end up making one of these on your own.” You handed over his own consultant badge.   
With grabby hands he reached out, a smile taking over his face as he looked over the badge. It was official with his name and a number on it. “I’m for real now.”  
“You’re a consultant.” You reminded him, hoping it wouldn’t go to his head. “And I own you for four years.” You took another sip. “You okay with that?”  
“Yeah.”  
“You’ll be here when I get back?”  
“Where else am I gonna go?” Gabriel gave you a charming smile. You gave him a small nod, then excused yourself. He waved at you goodbye, then once he heard the door shut, he grabbed the picture of Kali from under the newspaper. His fingers ran over her face, trying to take in every detail. Then he pulled out the other half of the picture, the one with the man’s hand that he didn’t show you. Together they fit like puzzle pieces, but this puzzle was only getting started.


	4. Hidden Messages

A full moon took over the sky, so bright and clear that you could count the craters that faced the Earth. However, it wasn’t so clear where Gabriel was at, as his brows drew together with a deep set frown. He was leaned against the rooftop’s concrete fence with his elbows resting on the smooth top. The sirens below were just white noise to him as his main focus was on trying to figure out who that man was. The only good thing was he got to see Kali’s face again, but the man with her was so much closer.   
He was so deep in thought that it took him a moment to realize he wasn’t alone anymore. Gabriel glanced over his shoulder, finding Balthazar leaning against the rooftop patio door with a slight look of judgement. He pushed himself off of the fence, turning around to face his friend.  
“Any luck with getting this thing off of me?” Gabriel trudged around, kicking at his anklet.  
“Patience, young grasshopper.” Balthazar answered back, making Gabriel roll his eyes. “You're lucky that they gave you two miles, mate. That’s a lot in New York. Anywhere else…..hate to imagine.” Balthazar frowned as he watched his friend continued to pace around like a lost dog. “Remember Jimmy Dimako? The feds gave him twenty-two feet. Had to stick his foot out when he showered.” He chuckled.  
Gabriel walked over to Balthazar, narrowing his eyes. “That’s not true.”  
“Okay, maybe thirty feet, but still. You have it better, my friend!” Balthazar exclaimed, putting his hands on Gabriel’s shoulders. “So stop moping around.”   
Gabriel shrugged off Balthazar’s hands. “Two miles isn’t enough to find Kali.” He ignored the look Balthazar gave him and went back inside. Moving around the easel he set up, Gabriel grabbed the photo of Kali. “The man with the ring was with Kali in California.” Marching back over to Balthazar, he threw the photo onto the dining table. “You tell me what he wants from her. Because he didn’t find what he was looking for in San Diego.”  
Balthazar stepped inside, closing the door behind him with narrowed eyes. “How do you know what that faceless pimp wants?”  
Gabriel sighed. “Because I told Kali that I kept everything. The money, the bonds, the art….all of it in San Diego.”  
“Well, obviously that’s not true because you told me it’s in Portland.” He scoffed, then eyed Gabriel carefully. “Right?” He frowned as he didn’t say anything. “Gabriel, tell me I’m right.” Gabriel hemmed and hawed, keeping his eyes to the ground. “Oh! It’s not in either place. It’s a test to see who would betray you!” Balthazar jabbed a finger at him. “See, this is how you get the name trickster, or maybe even backstabber!”   
Gabriel held his hands up, meeting icy blue eyes. “Balthazar, look I-.”  
He waved him off, crossing his arms. “No. I get it. You didn’t think you could trust either of us.”  
“That’s not true. I just needed to make sure.” Gabriel argued.  
“Oh really now? You needed to test me?” Balthazar put a hand over his heart like he was wounded physically. “Her I get, but me?! I’m the one who has always been there. Kali means destroyer.”  
Gabriel shook his head, ignoring his words. “Kali didn’t do anything. He’s making her do this. He’s the one after the treasure.” He pointed at the photo.  
“Oh, yeah, sure. Of course it’s never her fault.” Balthazar hissed. “Here’s a question then, why didn’t she try to warn you when she came to see you the last time in prison?” He arched an eyebrow.  
Gabriel let out a heavy sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. “I think she might have, but I was too stupid to see it. Too caught up in what she was saying.” He explained, then went to pick something off of the coffee table. “Here.” He handed over an old letter to his friend.  
Balthazar cleared his throat and began to read. “‘Weep for me my love. I’ll miss you more…’. What the fuck is this?”  
“It’s an old love letter. It doesn’t mean anything.” Gabriel took it from him, folding it up into thirds, showing the hidden message. “The FBI was closing in on us...and we got creative with codes.”  
“A three year old could figure this out.” Balthazar retorted.  
“Now you wonder why I don’t tell you certain things.” Gabriel bit back. “Okay, this was an early attempt. They got more sophisticated.”  
Balthazar rolled his eyes, then motioned to the letter. “So...you think Kali left you a code when she came to say goodbye?”  
“Exactly. Which is why I need to see that security tape.”  
“Your friend at the FBI has access.” Balthazar suggested.  
“Yeah, well Y/N isn’t going to just hand it over.”  
“Well...you could...and hang in with me on this one….” Balthazar put a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “..a bit crazy I know, but uh, what about asking?”   
“She’s away on vacation.” Gabriel explained.  
“Doesn’t she come back in a few days though?” He drummed his fingers on Gabriel’s shoulder, giving him a knowing look. “Hmm?”

The sun had treated you well as your skin had a nice glow to it as you walked into the office. You were early, trying to play catch up, since you were gone. Not surprising, Sam was there, giving you a friendly smile as you passed by. You returned it, then climbed the few stairs to your office, opening the glass door.  
Setting your briefcase down on your desk, you plopped down on your chair, letting your mind refocus on work. Although, during your entire vacation you continued to think of work or more specifically Gabriel. You only had one case together and then you left him. Granted, he had his anklet on and was being monitored all hours, but that didn’t stop you from thinking about him. It didn’t help either that Anna kept bringing his name up. But now you were back in your office and Gabriel would be in soon. Hopefully, another case would arise and you could put your energy and focus into that.   
Some time later as you finished up your emails, you noticed that Gabriel had come in. He went to his desk and worked on some things for a bit. It was about an hour later that he waltzed into your office, knocking as he stepped in.  
“Hey, Y/N.” His voice wasn’t the usual cheerfulness. “I have a favor to ask.”  
You blinked, shifting your chair around to look at him better. “What?”  
He fidgeted in his spot. “The last time Kali visited me in prison before she disappeared, you saw the security tape?”  
“Uh huh.” You slowly nodded, eyeing him closely.  
Gabriel swallowed. “I’d like to see it.”  
“You sure that’s a good idea?” You arched an eyebrow at him.  
“It’s the last time I saw her. I just….I need some closure.” He sighed heavily.   
“You did help a lot with that last case.” You drummed your fingers on your desk. “I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.”  
“I understand….and thank you.” He sounded genuine as he thanked you. Then he spun on his heels and started to head out of your office.  
“Gabriel.” Your voice made him stop and glance over his shoulder at you. “If I do get the tape….I hope you do find what you’re looking for.”   
“Thanks.” He smiled back, then left.

Balthazar was sprawled out on Gabriel’s couch, throwing up popcorn and catching it with his mouth as Gabriel loaded the security tape. “Nice of your FBI friend to give you this.” His words ended in a crunch.  
“Shhh.” Gabriel crouched down in front of the screen, watching it intently as it began to play.  
“Seriously? There’s no sound.” Balthazar sassed back. “And don’t shh me.”  
“Shhh.” Gabriel hissed.  
Balthazar pelted him with some popcorn, then stopped as Kali filled the screen. “Does her hair always look like that or did she change it up?”  
“It’s not that.”   
“Hey. I’m just trying to help.” Balthazar grumbled.  
“Her scarf is forming the letter ‘M’.” Gabriel noticed, thinking of possibilities.   
“Perhaps it stands for Moriarty.” He suggested, earning an angry look from Gabriel. “What? It could.”  
Gabriel turned back to the screen, watching it. “Wait. There! That’s it.” He paused, going back a little and zooming up on her hand that rested against her pants. He played it again, staring at how she tapped her fingers against her pant.  
“Morse code? How ancient.”   
“Can you read it or not?” Gabriel rewinded it back to when she started tapping.  
“Of course I can. Still don’t know why I learned it though.” He set the popcorn down, leaning forward to see the screen better. “‘H’.” He watched each tap of her fingers closely. “‘O’...’U’....’R’....’G’.....’L’...wait...yeah that’s an ‘A’ and double ‘S’.”  
“Hourglass.” Gabriel wide eyes stared at Balthazar. Without missing a beat he got up and went to his shelf, finding the hourglass. It hadn’t changed or been messed with since he found it at Kali’s apartment. You had been nice enough to get it from evidence lockup and give it to him, knowing that if you didn’t he’d probably try to steal it. The same empty glass with bronze details stared back at him. “What secrets do you hide?” He whispered to it, shifting it around in his hands.

After the Crossroads case, work wasn’t as exciting as Gabriel hoped it would be. Stacks of fraud cases and others of similar crimes were crowding his workspace. Most were easy for him to figure like one with a lady who was laundering drug money through her church bake sale.   
He knew he was lucky with the deal that he got, but he really wished he could just walk away and find Kali. The hourglass was the only thing she’d left behind and now he had to figure it out. For now though, he flipped through another case.  
“Hey, Gabriel.” Your voice broke through the haze surrounding him. He forced a smile back as he wondered if you were here to give him more cases. “Wanna grab some lunch?”  
“Uh….sure.” He said hesitantly, but then quickly threw on his hat as he stood up, leaving the open file where it was. He followed you to the elevators, pushing the lobby button.  
“How are the cases going?”  
“Oh, you know. Nothing I can’t handle.” He smirked.  
You saw right past him, noting earlier how he kept shifting his seat and drumming his fingers on the table. “They’re boring.” You stated.  
“Well….” He didn’t feel like he could really complain, but then he met your gaze. “Yeah. They are.”  
You nodded understandably. You, yourself, had cases that you had to deal with. Nothing big time like Crowley, but still big enough to get the FBI’s attention. “I know it’s probably wrong of me to say this, but I kinda hope we get another case like the last one.” You smiled back at the memories of working on that case. Gabriel was a pretty good partner, even though he did stretch some of the rules.  
“Yeah. It was fun.” Gabriel grinned back just as the door dinged.   
“So...got a favorite lunch spot?” You passed through the lobby with him at your side.  
“Hudson Eats.” Gabriel chimed back, holding the door open for you as you stepped outside.  
“Figures. An upscale place...that’s your usual territory.”   
“‘Cause I like living the good life.” He smoothed down his suit. “And the good life looks good on me.” He whistled for a taxi.  
“I think that you’re forgetting that your so-called 'good life' ended with you in orange.” You snickered, sliding into the taxi that had pulled up. Gabriel got in after, opening his mouth to say something, but then closed it in a pout. “Aw. You got nothing to say, do you?” You teased, chuckling at how his lip jutted out more.  
The entire ride to Hudson Eats was silence as Gabriel continued to pout. He was wrinkling his suit with how he slumped in the seat, which you pointed out, making him continue to sulk. Once you arrived, he seemed to be in better spirits as you made your way into the fancy food court with thirteen different restaurants. The sleek modern space was filled with people, which is why you kept a close eye on Gabriel.   
He pulled you into a line, explaining that this one had the best food and you went along with it. Of course, he forgot to mention that everyone else seemed to agree with it having the best food, which made the wait time pretty long. Thankfully, you got plenty of time for lunch, otherwise you’d be booking it back to the office as you ate the food.  
Despite the crowds of people, you managed to find a spot to sit, having the Statue of Liberty in the distance for a view. You stuffed your face, not wanting to waste time and also your stomach was practically eating itself now.  
Gabriel watched you, taking smaller bits of his own. “Good?”  
“Mmmhmmm.”  
“Just wait for dessert.” His whiskey eyes sparkled at the thought.  
“Do-won’t...have...ime for dat.” You tried to speak with food in your mouth.  
Gabriel shot you a look of disgust, then argued. “There is always time for dessert.”  
You let out a sigh, then finished off your food. “So….” You started, capturing Gabriel’s attention. “I’m guessing you watched the tape of Kali by now.”  
“Yeah.” He crumpled up his napkin, not meeting your gaze.   
“You okay?” You asked concernedly.  
“Just peachy.” He smiled back, but you could tell he was faking it.  
“Gabriel.” You breathed out. He stared at you, waiting for you to continue. “Just…I’m here for you.”  
“Don’t you have to be?” He challenged. “As my handler and all?” He knew he shouldn’t be angry at you. You let him have the tape to see, but the thought of Kali being under control by some unknown man was too fresh in his mind.  
“Yes, but...I know you loved Kali and it must’ve been hard for you. So much so that you broke out of prison for her.” You paused for a moment. “I just hope that you found what you needed on that tape and can move on now.”  
Gabriel saw the genuine look in your eyes, calming down the angry he felt. “Yeah. I got what I needed.” 

“How many tests did you say you tried?” Gabriel stared at the hourglass that sat in front of him on the dining table later that night. While he was busy at work all day, he let Balthazar take the hourglass to his ‘lab’ or storage locker to run some tests.  
“Enough.” Balthazar huffed out, resting his feet up on the table. “Lasers, mirrors....even found the manufacturer to see what kind of glass it is and the sand that was originally in it.”  
“And you got nothing?” He arched an eyebrow at his friend.  
“What I got was that none of those things worked. You know like how that Thomas Edison said something about how he found a million ways to not make a lightbulb.” He explained, then thought for a moment. “Perhaps there is no message.”  
“There has to be.” Gabriel picked up the hourglass, turning it around in his hands. “This was the only thing Kali left me. There’s a message here. I just gotta figure it out.” He assured.  
Balthazar frowned, wondering if Gabriel would go mad over this. “Well you have fun with that.” He stood up, sliding his dark jacket on over his gray v-neck shirt.   
“Where are you going?” Gabriel watched as he smoothed his jacket down.  
“Got a date with some models.” He smirked.  
“More than one?”   
“Twins actually.” Balthazar gave him a mischievous wink.  
“Oh, okay then. Have fun.” Gabriel smiled, happy that one of them had luck with the ladies.  
“Trust me, I will.” He chuckled and then with that he left.  
For a few moments, Gabriel just sat in his spot taking in every detail of the hourglass before setting it down. It was probably an hour or so later that he stood up and went to make himself dinner. Grilled chicken and steamed vegetables were on the menu, along with chocolate mousse for dessert. As the chicken cooked, he lit some candles that he had around the apartment, giving it a warm, intimate atmosphere.   
He placed one candle in front of the hourglass as though it was Kali there instead. It was the only thing besides memories that he had of her. The emptiness that the hourglass had made him think of how he felt. At first, he thought perhaps it was a clue, but then soon realized it just meant time was up. Together, the hourglass and Gabriel were both empty and without Kali, but at least he was safe. He couldn’t say the same thing about her yet.  
Gabriel was about to leave the hourglass, not wanting to continue the downward spiral that was taking over, but then he saw the bronze details on the ends of the hourglass change. Lines and shapes formed by the candle’s fire. As he moved the heat around some sort of map appeared. Once it was completed, Gabriel figured out that it was the New York City subway map.  
“Bingo.” He smiled.


	5. The Guard of Eden

Gabriel mirrored your pose as you sat in your office. Your elbow rested on your desk with your chin in your hand. “What’re you thinking?” You squinted at him.  
His eyes met yours. His stunning whiskey eyes always managed to captivate you. “I’m thinking it was the accountant, in the law office.”  
You nodded. “With the illegal wire transfer.”  
“Either that or Colonel Mustard in the library.” Gabriel smirked.  
“We can pull prints on the candlestick.” You glanced at the file under your elbow. “Let’s grab his company’s financial records from last year. They’re on file.” You closed the file, staring over at Gabriel. It took him a few moments to get at what you were hinting at.   
Finally, he met your gaze, looking a bit taken aback. “You want me to do it?” He pointed a finger at himself in disbelief. You gave a slow nod, not breaking eye contact. “We have clerks for that you know.”   
“I got something better though.” You smiled. “I got you.”  
“Ugh.” Gabriel rolled his eyes, dramatically got up and then walked away.  
You shook your head at his little pout, chuckling a bit at how he dragged his feet to the records room.  
The records room was filled with rows of three ring binders all neatly shelved. The FBI didn’t vary the colors much, Gabriel noted, as he ran his fingers over the black and gray binders. Boredom quickly crept in as he walked the rows, making noises to entertain himself. “Pbbbt.” He ran his fingers over them, going back and forth several times. Then he stopped, letting out a heavy sigh as he tapped at one of the binders. “Pow. Pow.”  
“Everything going alright in here?” Gabriel froze at the sound of Jo’s voice. She gave him a tight smile as she went to one of the binders and pulled it out. Gabriel leaned against one of the shelves, trying to not be too awkward. She turned to him once she found what she wanted. “Hey. Is it true that you sent champagne to a surveillance van?”  
“That’s the rumor.” Gabriel shrugged, giving a cocky smile. “Been checking me out?”  
Jo snorted. “Yeah. No. Only checking what I did for my thesis at Quantico.”   
“Really?” He crossed his arms, intrigued. “Tell me. How’d we do?”  
“Ninety-four.” Jo answered.  
“Not bad.” Gabriel held up a hand to high-five. Jo narrowed her eyes at him, shaking her head lightly. “Oh, come on. Don’t leave me hanging.”  
“Not gonna happen.”   
“Fine.” His hand dropped to his side. “So, find anything interesting about me when you were doing your thesis?”  
“You were only charged with counterfeit certificates, but you’re implicated in at least a dozen other confidence schemes, frauds, and forgeries.”  
“Sure know your stuff. Is that why you wanted to be apart of the White Collar unit? Because of little old me?” Gabriel playfully batted his eyes at her.  
“Oh, you got me through college, but the reason why I’m here is because Y/N is one of the best. I mean she caught you twice, right?” Jo smirked, moving towards the door.  
“Hey.” Gabriel called out. “I’m looking for some records….maybe you could help me?” He shot her a flirtatious smile.  
“We have clerks for that.” Jo replied, leaving the room.  
Meanwhile in your office, you scanned over some other cases, looking for another to do next when Sam burst into the room. “Anna is here and she’s not alone.” He explained, standing across from you.   
“Everything alright?” Your eyes moved past the lumbering giant to your roommate’s red hair that was getting closer.  
“She looks pretty upset. They both do.” Sam nodded to the brunette who was sitting down at Gabriel’s empty desk. Her leg kept shaking as she bit at her nails.  
You stood up, following Sam to the door. “Oh, that’s Anna’s friend, Hael. They’ve known each other since high school.” You whispered to Sam as Anna approached you with a serious look. “Hey roomie.” You smiled.  
“We need to talk.” She stated.  
“Okay. Well, thanks Sam.” You gave a small nod at him. “That’ll be all.” He gave you a small smile as he left, rushing to get out of there.  
Anna didn’t wait for an invite as she marched into your office, crossing her arms. “So why is Hael here?” You closed the door quickly before sitting down, rocking in your chair before noticing the hard look she was giving you. “Is she okay?” You got up quickly, patting down your blazer as you stood.  
“No, that’s why I’m here.” She explained. “It’s about her husband, Gadreel.”  
“Hot-wings guy.” You recalled, earning a questioning look from Anna. “He made those hot-wings at the barbecue a while back? Remember?”  
She blinked several times, then nodded. “Right.”  
“I thought he was stationed overseas.”   
“He finished his tour last month.” Anna answered, growing impatient. “Anyways, this morning the FBI issued a warrant for his arrest.”  
Your mouth was agape as you glanced back and forth between Anna and Hael. Hael was trying her best to calm herself down as she breathed out. You narrowed your eyes, sat down, and searched the FBI database. “What’s the last name?” You breathed out, feeling Anna’s stare.   
“Fallon.” She reminded you.  
“Got it.” You typed away. “What happened?”  
“Some stolen gems and gold in a storage shed. They think he brought them over.” Anna sighed, sitting down. “Hael came to me after she got the news. She has no idea why he would be considered as a suspect.”  
The warrant came up and as you read it, it all made sense. “I think I do.” You murmured.  
“Well, what is it?” Anna leaned over the desk.  
“They're gems and gold artifacts from Iraq. His prints and hair is all over it. Lot of evidence.” You frowned. “Anna, this doesn’t look very good.”  
She opened her mouth to say something, but the door swung open. “Found that file-” Gabriel sang, stopping as two pairs of eyes stared at him. His wide eyes shifted from Anna to you. “This can wait.” He said to himself, turning on his heels to leave.  
“No.” Anna commanded, springing from her seat. “Gabriel, come in.” You shook her head at her, but she ignored you, focusing on the former con-man instead.  
With hesitation and reluctance Gabriel trudged back in, closing the door behind him as he went and sat at the empty chair next to Anna. He kept his space, scooting it over a bit as he felt the tension.   
“Now Gabriel, just because someone is accused of a crime doesn’t mean they’re guilty, right?” Anna swerved in her seat, facing him directly.  
Gabriel thought about her words, shrugging. “Define guilty.”  
“You really think he’s the best person to ask?” You arched an eyebrow at Anna.  
“Gabriel?” Anna shot you a challenging glare.   
For a moment Gabriel studied both of you, trying to figure out what was really going on and if he should get involved. “I mean...I suppose it’s possible.” He tried, hoping a more middle answer would work.  
“See?” Anna chided. “That’s what I thought.” She smiled over at him.  
You rolled your eyes, then caught something on the file report. “It says whereabouts unknown. Is he on the run?” You glanced over at your roommate.  
This time it was Anna who rolled her eyes. “He’s at his brother’s.” She ignored the look you gave her. “I don’t know the address.” She explained as if that made things better.  
“If you’re keeping information that’s aiding and abetting.” You informed her, making sure to keep your voice down.  
“Okay.” Gabriel saw his chance to get away from the staring match. “I think I grabbed the wrong file.” He awkwardly stood up. “I’m gonna go grab the right one.”  
“No, stay.” You barked out. “My turn.” You gave a tight smile to Anna, then glanced over at Gabriel. “If we have your prints and hair at a scene and you’re on the run, are you guilty?”  
“Oh! Now he’s the best person to ask?” Anna sassed at you.   
You narrowed your eyes at her. “Well?” You eyed your partner.  
Gabriel sat, with his mouth agape for a moment, before figuring out what to say. “Honestly, your friend should turn himself in.”  
Anna seemed happy with the answer. “I completely agree with you.” She turned to you. “That’s why I told Hael to tell him to turn himself in.”  
“Oh good. So he is turning himself in.” You weren’t exactly sure how you both ended up on the same page again, but you were happy to say the least.  
“Yes.” Anna nodded. “That’s why Gadreel is gonna turn himself in to you.”  
Gabriel went wide eyed at the words and you held a similar expression, though you were able to keep it more hidden. “Great.” You said through gritted teeth.

The American flag stood proudly overhead as you waited for Gadreel to turn himself in. Anna consuled Hael, watching a silver car pull up. Hael immediately pulled away, rushing over to her husband as he stepped out of the car.  
“I know I’m not the one charge with a crime, but I still feel guilty.” You sighed, peeking over at your partner who stood next to you. “You think he did it?”   
“Ancient artifacts that were believed to be the King of Tyre’s.” He flipped through the file you had printed off. “He was believed to have tried to take over the Garden of Eden. Biblical gems and gold spells a lot of money, which means a lot of motive.” He paused, reading over a part. “Oh, that’s a shame. It says some of the gold was melted down.”  
“Yeah.” You breathed, stepping forward to get Gadreel. Anna came to stand beside you as you watched Hael kiss her husband one more time. As they pulled away from each other, you got a good look at Gadreel in his crisp uniform. He clenched his jaw, stepping up to you with Hael rubbing his back.  
“Gadreel.” You gave a sad smile.  
“Y/N.” He stood firm and solid, meeting your eyes. “I want you to know that I did not do this. I was set up.”  
“Your prints were all over the gold.”  
“My prints?” He narrowed his eyes in confusion, pulling back slightly.  
“We gotta go.” You reached into your pocket, pulling out the cuffs.  
“Listen, please.” Gadreel stepped forward. “Look, my lawyer told me not to say anything, but...when I was overseas, a guy asked me to help him bring some cargo to the States. I said ‘no’. His name is Zachariah Braxton. He’s in the State Department.”  
“Gadreel.” You warned him.  
“Just look into it, please.”  
You thought for a moment, then glanced at a distraught Hael. “I will.” You promised. At your words, Gadreel held out his hands and you handcuffed him.   
While you were busy, Gabriel peaked at Gadreel’s hands and noticed no burn marks that would indicate him melting down the gold. Perhaps he had a partner and that was who had did it. Or maybe he really was set up by this Braxton fellow. His thoughts continued as you lead Gadreel into the building with other agents flanking you to make sure he didn’t try to escape.

Gabriel was bored sitting at his desk waiting for you to get back. To pass the time, he threw up his rubber band ball, catching it each time with ease. Just as he threw it back up, you came striding into the office with your nose stuck in a file.  
Quickly, he caught it and rolled it onto his desk, then jogged over to you. “That was genuine surprise on Gadreel’s face when we told him his prints were on the gold.”   
“I noticed as well.” You remarked. “But that doesn’t prove he isn’t guilty.”   
“There’s something else.”  
You stopped and faced him. “What?”   
Gabriel paused for a moment. “Before I say anything...what’s the statute of limitations on-”  
“Oh, just tell me.” You huffed, walking to your office.  
“Well, for one thing, you can’t melt gold without getting splash blisters on your arms. Doesn’t matter how careful you are. Trust me.”   
“Yes, well, Gadreel may be burn free, but his prints are still everywhere.” You climbed the stairs to your office with Gabriel by your side.  
“Perhaps we should go talk to this Braxton guy. You know a little bad cop, good cop.” He smiled.  
“Already did.” You handed him the file as you entered your office. “He was working for the State Department overseeing the construction of a new museum for religious artifacts a few months back.”  
“Where is he now?” Gabriel focused on the picture of the man. He was balding, with gray hair and a sinister look to him.  
You stopped at your desk, grabbing your purse. “Working for a private excavation company that looks for oil and other valuable goods. Based here in New York.”  
“Sounds like someone is living the posh life.” Gabriel grunted, glancing over at you. “Think he decided to trade black gold for real gold?"  
“Maybe.” You shrugged, taking the file back. “I’m gonna go see how well he’s doing.”

Turns out he was having a client meeting, dealing with excavating a site for a fancy five star hotel. Though Zachariah was known for dealing with oil, apparently he helped his expensive friends out. Probably to cut through red tape and any other detours.  
You pulled up in your car, finding a group of white men in black suits standing around the notorious Zachariah Braxton. Smiling, you got out with your hand digging in your pocket for you FBI badge. “Mr. Braxton.” You called, gathering everyone’s attention. “Am I interrupting?” You faked confusion as you got closer. “Agent Y/N Y/L/N. FBI.” You flashed him your badge, watching Zachariah panic slightly as the men around him looked put-off.  
“If you gentlemen could wait for me by the cars, it’ll be a moment.” His calm demeanor seemed to sway the men to wait, instead of outright leaving. He stepped forward with his shoulders back and his bodyguard next to him.  
“If you don’t mind, I have some questions about some stolen Iraqi artifacts.”  
“Oh, of course.” Zachariah observed you carefully. “I think I read that some pieces were recovered.”  
“That’s right.” You affirmed. “We have a suspect in custody.”  
“Good, good. Justice should always prevail.” He remarked.  
“I agree.” You took a step closer. “Given your past experience, you might have some insight as how a bunch of gems and gold from the Persian gulf found its way to a storage shed near Fort Monmouth.”  
He didn’t seem fazed at all by what you said. “Of course. Feel free to call my office and we can set up a meeting.”  
“Sure.” You smiled and he took that as the end of the conversation. His bodyguard followed him as he made his way over to the gentlemen in suits. “There was one other thing.” You turned, watching Zachariah stop in his tracks. “The suspect says you framed him. Any idea why he might say that?”  
He arched an eyebrow, then shook his head. “I wish I knew.” You took several steps forward, but was stopped by his bodyguard putting a hand in front of you. “Is there something else Agent Y/L/N?” His cold eyes staring at you.  
You opened your mouth to speak, but then you noticed splash burns on the bodyguards hands as they were still placed in front of you to make sure you didn’t get closer. “Nope. I got everything I needed.” You gave Mr. Braxton a smile before you walked away. Fishing out your cell phone, you glanced over at the bodyguard one more time. Your call was answered on the second ring. “Sam, have every recovered artifact moved to our office ASAP. I want to re-examine the evidence.” 

Gabriel strutted into the conference room, finding Jo and Sam already there. Iraqi artifacts were displayed on the large table. “Where’s Y/N?”  
“She’s been pouring over this stuff with the Evidence Recovery Team since she saw splash blisters on Braxton’s bodyguard.” Sam explained as he put on white gloves.  
“Said something about a breakthrough.” Jo added, putting on her own.  
Gabriel nodded, poring over the different ancient items. He picked up a small vase with inscriptions on it, amazed at how well it had stayed together for all these years. “Now that’s impressive.” Jo quickly grabbed the vase from him. “Hey. I’m looking for clues.” He argued.  
“More like looking for your next jail sentence.” She snapped back, taking another artifact out of Gabriel’s hands. “Will you stop touching these without gloves on?”  
“Don’t worry, most of the time I use protection.” He winked. Jo shot him an icy look.  
A cough interrupted their little argument. “Ahem. So if you were gonna frame someone, how’d you do it?” Sam looked at both of them.  
“Never framed anyone. Only been framed.” Gabriel admitted.  
“Yeah?” Jo studied him. “What for?”  
“Counterfeiting stock certificates and about a dozen other confidence schemes, frauds and forgeries.” Gabriel quickly rolled off. Jo scoffed at him as Gabriel smiled, finding you walking into the conference room. “Heard you had a breakthrough.”   
You nodded at your partner. “I got something. Look at the prints.” You watched as three sets of eyes went over the artifacts.   
Sam brought the piece in his hands closer. “They’re very clean.”  
“Maybe a little too clean?” You suggested.  
“All Gadreel’s?” Gabriel questioned.  
“Yup. Notice anything else?” You quizzed him.  
Using a handkerchief, Gabriel picked up a gold bowl. He carefully turned it, cocking his head to the side. “They’re all left handed.”   
“Uh-huh.” You smiled.  
“That’s improbable.” Gabriel glanced over at you.  
“It’s impossible.” You remarked.  
“What does it mean?” Jo broke in.  
“I don’t know, but there is something we’re missing.”

“You think all the prints were planted?” Gabriel guessed as he shoved his dinner into his mouth. The restaurant the two of you were at had a nice outdoor courtyard space, which you were currently occupying, along with a couple of other tables. String lights were turned on even though darkness hadn’t taken over yet.  
You jabbed your fork into your food. “It wouldn’t be hard to do, right?”  
“Don’t wook tat me.” He frowned with a full mouth. You shot him a knowing look. “Alright, it wouldn’t be that hard.” Gabriel admitted after he swallowed. “Start by getting a clean set of prints. So, that means someone got Gadreel’s.”  
“But only his left hand.” You pointed out. “Why only his left?”  
Gabriel thought for a moment, taking a smaller bite of his food. “How were the gold and gems found in the first place?”  
“Anonymous tip.” You took a sip from your cold drink.  
“That’s a red flag.” Gabriel scoffed.  
“Could be.” You gulped down some more.  
“Easy there.” Gabriel warned with a smile. “Shouldn’t you be getting home to Anna soon?”  
You let out a sigh. “Hael has been with us for a few days.”  
“Slumber parties and naked pillow fights?”   
You shot him a look. “I don’t know what pervert came up with that, but no. Anna just keeps giving me looks…that I should solve it sooner….and I feel bad that Gadreel is in prison. I mean, I feel guilty for causing her pain.”  
“Tell them about the print theory. I mean that’s something.”  
“Yeah, if I could link it to Braxton or the bodyguard, then I’d have something.” You sighed, taking another swing of your drink.  
Gabriel watched you slump back into your seat, finding that only a small amount of the drink was left. He kept staring at the glass bottle, thinking of how you held it the same each time.  
“What?” You felt his eyes on you.  
“We’ve been here an hour, but you’ve only touched these bottles with your right hand.” Gabriel observed.  
“Gadreel had drinks with whoever lifted the prints.” You realized.  
“Can you ask him?”  
You shook your head. “Marshals are sitting on him. I mean I could take the time to reach out, file the proper paperwork and go through the usual channels-”  
Gabriel cut in. “Or you could just ask his wife-”   
“Wife right now.” You finished for him. You bid Gabriel a goodbye as you raced home. Traffic blurred by you and soon you were unlocking the door. “Hey roomie.” You called out, shutting the door behind you as you stepped further in.  
“Hey Y/N.”  
“Hi Hael.” You smiled at the grieving brunette with puffy eyes. “How are you holding up?”  
“It’s difficult.” She sniffed. “It’s not knowing that’s the hardest.”  
Anna soothed her friend, then turned to you. “Any news?”  
“Well what do you want first? Good or the bad?” You asked, setting your briefcase down.  
“There’s bad news?” Hael choked out.  
“Not more than there has been already.” You tried to reassure her as you sat down next to her. “He’s still in custody, but the good news is that there are some evidence anomalies. Someone may have planted his prints on the gold and gems.”  
“So he really was framed?”   
“It’s possible.” You nodded. “I have to ask, did he have drinks with anyone recently? The prints are crisp, which could be from glass or bottle.” You explained, then suddenly Hael burst into tears. She hid behind her hands as tears cascaded down her face. Anna put her hand on her shoulder for comfort as her eyes shot daggers at you. You were taken aback, not knowing what to say to make it better.  
“It’s okay. This is the good news.” You reached out, grabbing her hand.   
After a few moments, Hael left out a sigh, wiping away any stray tear. “I’m sorry.”  
“It’s okay.” You soothed.   
Hael gave a small smile at you. “Gadreel and I had a fight before all of this. About a job...he was invited to go out for drinks.”  
“What kind of job?”   
“Some security company.” She rattled off. “He just got back too. I missed him….we...it had already put a strain on our marriage and he goes and….he wants to leave again? Maybe he really did take that stuff. Probably leave me...that job was probably an excuse.”  
“No, no, honey.” Anna broke in. “Gadreel loves you. He was framed and Y/N is gonna prove it.”  
“Anna’s right about that he love you.” You gave her hand a squeeze. “Can I ask who invited him out for drinks?”  
“I don’t know. He...he, uh, was some hotshot security contractor. Even helped his unit overseas.” She bite her lip, shaking her head. “He called my husband about a month ago. Thought he would be good at other stuff.”  
“So they went for drinks?”   
“Yeah. Then he came back and told me of the great job opportunites that this guy had for him. I was upset that he didn’t tell me beforehand.” Hael’s eyes became wet again as she spoke. “What was worse was the fact that Gadreel was more mad about that his army cap was missing than me accusing him that he didn’t love me.”  
“Missing cap?” You thought of how his hair was found at the crime scene.  
“Yeah. He left it at the bar or something.” She sighed.  
“Interesting.”

Gabriel leaned back in your office chair as you told him what you learned. “That would explain the hair fibers. So who’s this man then?”  
“Uriel Gunne. He’s a security contractor that helped the unit.” You slide a file across the desk for Gabriel. You let him rifle through it before thinking out loud. “All right, Uriel invited him out for drinks. Let’s say he takes the opportunity to lift the prints off the bottle. He grabs the cap as an added bonus.”  
“Nothing more perfect than DNA evidence to make a real case.” Gabriel pursed his lips, shutting the file.  
“Right. Now how do we connect Braxton with Uriel?”  
“Do they know each other?” Gabriel tried, he figured it might be a long shot. The less they knew about each other, the less likely they could make a mistake and get caught. People always get personal with friends and that can be bad for business.  
“Other than the fact that they were in Iraq..nothing.” You sighed. “If Zachariah stole the gold and gems, he isn’t going to ship it himself. He’s gonna have someone else do it, so that his hands stay clean.”  
Gabriel tapped the file. “You know, security contractor is a great cover to get past customs.”  
You shot him a smile. “Let’s go talk to Uriel.”


	6. A Good Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: GabrielxKali, Future GabrielxReader, goes a bit back and forth of pov between Reader and Gabriel, some language, drinking of alcohol

Apparently, security contracting had upgraded the concrete look for something sleeker with full window walls to create an airy space. The office building cut through the skyline, making you wonder what was being hidden in it.   
With Gabriel at your heels you pushed through the door and into the lobby. Rounded glass walls broke up the space as you walk towards the front desk. “Wait here.” You tilted your head over to the plush leather seating that was slightly hidden from the front desk. “I’ll check in.”  
Gabriel stopped, letting you continue ahead. He let out an annoyed huff, pouting his lips as he took a seat on the comfortable benches. At least there was a nice view with an attractive dark haired woman next to him.  
Leaving Gabriel behind, you approached the front desk that also worked as the entrance for the security contracting company. A gruff large guard leaned over the desk, buzzing people in as he checked their employee card. “Hello. I’m here to see Uriel Gunne.”  
“He’s not in yet.” The guard didn’t even look up at you, instead skipping through some pages of his magazine.  
You rolled your eyes as you pulled out your badge. Sometimes it was sad that you felt you only got respect because of the badge. “Agent Y/L/N. FBI.”   
The guard glanced up at that, suddenly standing straight. “Sorry, ma’am. Would you care to wait upstairs? He should be in any minute.” He offered, holding his hand out.  
You peeked back at Gabriel, finding toned legs with black stilettos cozied up to his. You turned back to the guard, smiling. “Yeah, I’ll do that.” He nodded, buzzing you in. You walked through, then paused to glance back at the guard. “Make sure to let him know that Agent Y/L/N with the FBI is here to see him.”  
He looked a little confused, but agreed. “Sure.”   
“Thanks.” You smiled, leaving him at that.  
Meanwhile, Gabriel slid closer to the attractive woman next to him, giving his best charming smile. “So, what’s it like to travel to places to act as security?”   
She blushed. “Oh, I’m no guard or soldier.”  
“Really? But your badge says employee access.” He pointed out, gently grabbing at the card.  
“I’m a publicist actually. Get the name out and make everything look good.”  
“Wow. Well, you do a great job at making yourself look good.” He flirted. “What’s it like up there?”  
She giggled. “Pretty rigid. They take their work seriously.”  
“‘Course.” Gabriel nodded as she checked her phone.  
“Look like they moved my meeting to twelve-thirty.” She winked over at him. “Excuse me.” Grabbing her purse, she left him.  
Gabriel was about to look around to find you when his phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he answered. “Hello?”  
“Hey.” You spoke back as you walked through the building.  
“Y/N? Where are you?” He searched, finding you nowhere in sight.  
“Upstairs, on my way to Uriel’s office.” You followed a receptionist as you talked. She told you to wait at some couches. “Thanks.” You gave her a grateful smile.  
“You left me in the lobby.” Gabriel stated, sounding upset.  
“Well...you looked busy.” You explained, getting comfortable. “Listen, Uriel’s on his way in. I want you to watch how he reacts when the guard tells him that there’s an FBI agent waiting for him.” You finished, cutting off the call.  
“No-” Gabriel got out as the line went dead. He narrowed his eyes at his phone, thrusting it back in his pocket. Just as he did, a dark skinned man sauntered in, passing Gabriel. It took a moment, but Gabriel knew that it was Uriel.   
He had a friendly smile as he came to the guard. “Hey Phil.”   
“Hey.” The guard smiled back. “Oh, Mr. Gunne.” Uriel paused, swerving on his heels to face him. “There’s an FBI agent here to see you.”  
“Excuse me?” Uriel leaned in closer.  
“An FBI agent.” Phil explained. “Said her name was Y/L/N.”  
Gabriel watched as Uriel’s smile faded and his posture went stiff. “Uh…” His fingers tightened around the handles of his briefcase. “Tell her that today isn’t a good day.”  
“Oh, she’s already upstairs.” Phil pointed up.  
Uriel shifted on his feet like he was unsure if he wanted to go further. “Did she say what she wanted?” His eyes darted around.  
“All she said was to let you know that she’s here.”   
“Oh, thanks.”   
Gabriel could hear part of the conversation, noting that he was definitely not thankful for the news. The gate buzzed as Uriel hesitantly stepped forward. He soon disappeared and then more people followed. As Gabriel watched each greet the guard and then buzz in, an idea occurred to him. For a brief moment ,he thought about letting you in on it, but decided against it as he got up and left the building.  
Minutes later Gabriel carefully made his way through the lobby with stacks of coffees in his hands. He used his chin to make sure they didn’t tip over and he clutched the bag filled with pastries with one of his hands.  
“Hey Phil.” He sang.  
“Morning.” Phil automatically replied back.   
“Oh, crap.” Gabriel stopped before the gate with Phil glancing over at him. “I ran out of hands.” Gabriel acted as if they were about to fall as he nodded over to Phil. “My card is in my pocket. If you could grab it…just don’t go exploring.” He joked as he turned around, sticking his butt slightly out. “Get that for me?”  
Phil made a disgusted face as he waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. I got you.”  
“Alright, thanks, bud.” Gabriel quickly made his way through the gate as Phil buzzed him in.  
While Gabriel worked on getting in, you waited for Uriel to show up. You sat for a bit before slowly walking around and then from the corner of your eye, you saw him. Uriel had stopped to sign a document for a man, which gave you time to see if he was nervous looking at all. Though you didn’t see much from him, you noticed a familiar partner pass by him. Thankfully, Uriel was too busy with signing that he didn’t noticed Gabriel with coffee in his hands. You narrowed your eyes at him, making sure your vision was correct before yanking out your phone and dialing his number.  
Instead of Gabriel, you got his voicemail. “Gabriel.” You said sternly as you left a message. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but stop it. This is not the time to be playing around.”  
Gabriel did feel his phone go off, but he was busy carrying drinks and stalking Uriel to answer. He observed soldiers and employers interact with him as he made his way to his office. Just as he was about to keep following, a guard stopped him.  
“I haven’t seen you before.” His broad shoulders and dark eyes had an intimidating appearance.  
“Guilty.” Gabriel smiled, ducking his head. “I’m a new assistant to Mr. Gunne. Thought I’d bring coffee to my first day.”  
“Sucking up on your first day, huh?” The broad shoulder guard squinted at him, then patted his shoulders. “I like you already.” He smiled, taking a couple coffees. “You don’t mind if I take these to some of the guys, right?”  
“Oh no.” Gabriel shook his head. “Go ahead. There’s plenty.”  
“Cool. Thanks, man.” He left after that with most of the drinks.  
Some others must’ve heard the conversation as he got crowded by others who took drinks as well. Within seconds they were gone and Gabriel was able to continue his way to Uriel. Although, it wasn’t hard with most of the walls made of glass which left no real privacy.   
Uriel strided over to his desk that had a nice view of the street with sleek modern furnishings that barely took up any room. From a distance, Gabriel watched as Uriel set his briefcase down and took a piece of paper out, along with a key. Bending down, he opened his metal desk drawer and placed the paper under other documents as he glanced around nervously. Then put the key in his pocket and left his desk. Just as he got a few yards away, you blocked him.  
“Uriel Gunne.” You flashed a smile.  
“Oh, you must be Agent Y/L/N.” He stuck out a hand to shake. His grip was loose as he spoke. “I hope this won’t take long. I have many meetings today.”  
“Of course.” You followed him as he went to a small oval conference room to talk.  
As soon as him lead you away, Gabriel strided from his spot, picking up a notebook on his way as he pretended to be writing something. He sat down at the desk and started to work some of the paper clips to pick the lock.  
While he worked at it, you sat down across from him. “I was wondering about the Iraq unit you were on. The one you helped some soldiers, including Gadreel Fallon.”  
“Oh, Gadreel.” He nodded like he completely understood what the meeting was about now. “Of course.”  
“What did you think of him?” You eyed him, but caught Gabriel’s movements, thanks the glass walls.  
“He seemed like a good soldier.” Uriel commented.  
“That’s it?”   
He sighed. “To be honest, I didn’t find him that memorable.”  
You narrowed your eyes. “Then why did you meet up with him back here in the states? You even offered him a job.”  
Uriel didn’t even flinch. “I met up with all the soldiers who were in the unit. While the military is good and all, our company has better pay and benefits.”  
As Uriel spook, Gabriel unlocked the drawer reading the paper that he had stashed in there. Gabriel smiled over at you as he got up.  
“So, did he take the job offer?” You glared at Gabriel as he sped past the conference room, while trying to keep focus on Uriel.  
“Many of the soldiers that I talked to did. Though Gadreel...I believe he wanted to talk to his wife first.” Uriel nodded, eager to be done with the conversation.  
“So you took Gadreel out for drinks.” You turned back to him.  
“Yes. As I did with all of them who we considered would be good.”  
“Mm.” You thought for a moment, trying to buy time. “When you say ‘considered who would be good’, what do you mean by that?”  
As Uriel answered your question, Gabriel was busy over at the copy machine trying to get it to work. He thought pressing the green button would work, but it just yelled at him.Gabriel glanced around and found a cute blonde woman. “Excuse me. Did they change the code again?” He flashed his smile as she stopped.  
“Oh, here. Use mine.” She came forward, punching in the numbers. “There you go.”  
“Thanks.” Gabriel winked.  
Finally, it printed off a copy just in time as Uriel was getting irritated by your stalling. “What exactly are you investigating, Agent Y/L/N?” He muttered.  
“Gadreel was arrested yesterday for the theft of Iraqi antiquities.” You explained, finding Gabriel coming back to Uriel’s desk.  
“Sorry to hear that.”  
“So, there was nothing special about Gadreel?” You folded your hands on the table.  
“No. He seemed to be a good soldier.” He suddenly stood up. “I’m sorry that I can’t help more.”  
“Why the rush?” You approached him as he hovered by the door.  
“I told you. I have meetings.” He reminded you. “Now, if you don’t have any other questions, I’d like to get back to work.”  
Through the glass, you saw Gabriel at his desk, putting back the paper. “Wait.” You stepped forward. Uriel huffed out, ready to snap at you. “My card.” You reached into your pocket and handed it to him, just as Gabriel finished whatever he was doing. “When you think of something.”  
“If I think of something.”  
“Uh huh.” You smiled and left.

“What the hell was that about?” You scolded Gabriel once you were about a block away. “I couldn’t even concentrate with you doing you’re sneaking around.”  
“You told me to watch his reaction. I did.” He said simply.  
“But breaking and entering?” You whispered-yelled, all too aware of the people around you.  
“Phil let me in.” Gabriel shrugged.  
You turned to him. “Who’s Phil?”  
“The guy at the-” You held up your hand to stop him. “What? You don’t wanna know what I found?”  
“No.” You shook your head. Wouldn’t do you good since he got it illegally without a warrant or anything.  
Ignoring your protest, Gabriel spoke. “He got rattled when he heard FBI. He went to his desk and locked something away in the drawer.”  
“Oh god, please don’t tell me-”  
“I didn’t steal it.” Gabriel interrupted, stopping. “Photocopied it.” He held out the paper with a smug expression. “It’s a pawnshop ticket. Bet I know what he was pawning.”  
“Nope.” You grabbed the slip and crinkled it up. “I didn’t see this. Didn’t hear this and neither did you.” You gave him a pointed look and marched away.  
“But I did see it.” He argued, watching your tense figure leave without him. Sighing, Gabriel pulled out his phone, along with an extra photocopied image. He knew you too well, though he sometimes had to try.  
“Bonjour.” Balthazar’s voice came through the speaker.  
“Hey, Balthie. I got a favor to ask you.” Gabriel spoke as he unfolded the piece of paper.  
“Sorry mate, but I’m just not comfortable to have a threesome with you.” There was a pause as Gabriel squinted at the phone. “Oops. Sorry wrong person.”  
“Talk about awkward...anyways Frenchie...I need you to check out a pawnshop ticket for me.”   
“Oh, that I can do.” Balthazar sang. “What’s the pawnshop name?”

It was dark by the time you got home, finding Anna and Hael in the living room with the TV as their only light. You quietly snuck in, hoping to not disturb them, but Anna eyed you right away. You mouthed to her that you were going to go upstairs and pointed, but Anna shook her head and pointed her own finger outside. Hael was too busy watching the TV to realized that you both headed outside to talk.  
As soon as the front door shut, Anna started talking. “Do you think we could finish the movie without you here? I just worry because you seem to trigger her. You know with the thing going on with her husband.”  
“Out of sight, out of mind.” You murmured.  
“Exactly.” Anna nodded. “So, could you go somewhere else for a while?”  
“Sure.” You agreed before you really thought of a place to go. Anna seemed happy as she smiled over at you before sneaking back inside. Standing outside for a few moments, you tried to think of places to go then one idea came to mind.

Gabriel hunched over on his bed with the hourglass in hand. He managed to figure out that it was the New York subway map, but that didn’t mean anything if he couldn’t figure out where he was supposed to go or do with it. He let out a heavy sigh, though he wasn’t about to give up. Studying it closer, Gabriel soon found that there were two diagonal lines that got bolder and more pronounced where they intersected.   
“‘X’ marks the spot.” Gabriel smiled. “Kali always did love the classics.” He quickly dialed Balthazar. “Frenchie, it’s me.”  
“Yeah?”  
“You nearby?”  
“Depends.” Balthazar coyly replied, then changed his tone. “Did your partner put a tail on me?”  
“What? No. Not that I know of anyways. But, Balthazar….I figured out the map. I found two lines...they make an ‘x’.”  
“Of course. Classic.” He smirked. “I actually found some treasure, though I believe it’s not from the ‘x’ that you’re looking for. I’m on my way.”  
“Hurry up.”   
“Or what?” Balthazar sassed.   
Gabriel shook his head, ending the call. Not even a minute later and there was knocking at his door. “Someone’s getting into shape.” Gabriel murmured as he down the hourglass on his bed. There was another knock just before he could answer it. “Hey Balt-” He cut himself off as you were there instead. “Partner.”   
“Expecting someone?” You arched an eyebrow.  
“Nope. No-not at all.” Gabriel stuttered as you walked in, making yourself comfortable. “Yeah, come right on in.”  
“Amazing.” You sighed out, taking in the perfect apartment. “Oh, yeah. I brought wine.” You lifted the bottle. “Figured it might help to clear the mind.”  
“Did Dr. Phil teach you that?” Gabriel joked as he found two glasses for the wine.  
“No, but I’m hoping we can solve this case tonight.” You sat down at the dining table, letting Gabriel pour the wine out.   
“So, Hael still at the house?”  
“Yep.” You took a large sip of the wine.  
“That why you here?” Gabriel watched you gulp it down, sitting down at the other end of the table.  
“Yep.” You poured some more into your glass then lifted it in the air. “To freeing Gadreel and putting the right people in prison, so I can go back home.”  
“I’ll drink to that.” Gabriel muttered into his glass. Just as the wine washed down his throat, a knock at the door sounded. “I’ll get that.” He practically jumped up to answer it. “Probably Chuck.” You let him be as you stared down your glass.  
As soon as the door opened Gabriel held up a hand to stop Balthazar, gesturing to not talk, but Balthazar ignored him or didn’t have a clue as he talked anyway. “Photocopy of a pawn ticket, but I got this coin.” He smirked, holding out a gold coin. “What?”  
“Sorry Mr. Freely, but Chuck isn’t here right now.” Gabriel spoke loudly and Balthazar understood.  
You smiled into your glass, leaning back in your chair. He did promise that you’d get to meet his friend eventually, though he kept putting it off.  
“Oh. Well, then I guess I’ll be on my way. Sorry to have bothered you.” Balthazar turned.  
“No problem.” Gabriel started to close the door.  
“Wait a second.” You got up and made your way over to the two of them.   
“Sorry mademoiselle. I guess I’m interrupting something.” He bowed slightly at you. “I’ll take my leave.”  
You smiled, not taking the little con they were trying to pull. “Who are you?”  
“I’m the neighbor.” He gave you a warm smile. “Freely….I.P. Freely.” There was an awkward pause as the two of you looked at Balthazar. “Parents hated me I guess.”  
“Yeah, I’m sure.” You gave a tight smile. “So, you friends with Chuck?”  
“‘Course. We have book club together.”  
“Oh?”  
“Nothing like fine wine and fine women. Erotic is my specialty.” He winked.  
You peered over at Gabriel. “You wanna keep this up?”  
“Not really.” He sighed. “You’re right...this is-”  
“Actually.” You cut him off. “I know who he is. But let’s just call him Mr. Freely for tonight.” Balthazar smiled at that. “Come on in.” You motioned. “Let’s have a drink and talk.”  
“I like her.” Balthazar whispered to Gabriel as he sat down.  
Several drinks later, you and Balthazar had become quite the pals. You finished the bottle, which Balthazar then broke into the harder stuff. He sat next to you smiling as Gabriel sat on the opposite end with his arms crossed.  
“I-I don’t get it.” You refilled your glass. “Girl leaves nothing but an empty hourglass behind.”  
“Least she could do was leave a full wine bottle.” Balthazar chuckled and you laughed along with him.  
“I’m right here.” Gabriel pouted.  
“Alright.” You held out your hands as Balthazar tried to suppress his giggles. You leaned back in your chair, glimpsing at the view outside. “An amazing view.” You sighed. “I mean look at that. Is this why you guys do it? Is this what it is all about? The cons? The schemes?”  
“It’s not about the stuff.” Balthazar said sincerely.   
“Balthazar.” Gabriel warned him.  
He held up a hand to his friend. You seemed like a person that he could talk to. “It’s about doing what we wanna do. Who cares about the daily hectic life of nine to five? The world you live in only creates borders. Ours creates opportunity. I’m free….free man. I can do whatever I want.”   
“Like going to the pawnshop and getting that coin that’s in your pocket?” You sobered up.  
“Sure it ain’t something else, sweetheart?” Balthazar joked, sending you a wink.  
You rolled your eyes as Gabriel gave him a look. “Come on, just show her the coin.”  
“Fine, but you’re no fun.” He glared at his friend. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out the solid gold coin and tossed it up in the air.  
You caught it easily, studying the markings on it. “Ain’t this a hell of a thing?”  
“Treasure believed to be the King of Tyre’s. Thought to be from the Garden of Eden. Last seen in Iraq.”  
“I really shouldn’t even know about this. Uriel’s guilty, isn’t he?” You glanced over at your partner.  
“Looks like it.”  
You huffed out. “Can’t do a damn thing about it. I’m holding damning evidence and I can’t do a damn thing about it.”  
“You’re rules, suit, not ours.” Balthazar mumbled.  
“Come on, Y/N. Give me the coin.” Gabriel reached over the table, but you held it away.  
“I can see it now. ‘FBI agent illegally obtains evidence. New at 11.’ Better yet if Uriel’s security group was the one to take me in.”  
“That would be one ironic story. Especially since Uriel was the one who brought it here in the first place under his protection.”  
You thought for a moment, letting his words soak in. “What if he could still protect it?” Two pairs of eyes stared at you as you focused on the coin.


	7. Zachariah

Uriel strolled into the office building, greeting Phil before heading up to his office. Just as he climbed the stairs, one of his assistants joined his side. “Mr. Gunne.” She was a small woman who always had her hair pulled back, but she was one of his best.  
“Yes, Joy?”   
“Got a new client for you,” she explained, slowing as they neared his desk. “He says he wants you to help him protect some Iraqi artifacts. Transport them.”  
“May I ask, why he wants specifically me?” Uriel turned, setting his briefcase down.  
“Probably because you run this place and wants to make sure that it’s protected,” she theorized.   
Uriel nodded, knowing all too well how some people were very protective of their things. “Alright then. Got a number I can reach him at?”  
“Better.” Joy gave a big smile. “He’s here.”  
“Oh? Where’d you set him up?”   
“Conference room. Figured something closed would be better than out in the open.”  
“Smart thinking.” Uriel approved, cracking a small smile. “Guess, I’ll go see what he wants then.” He left at that, turning the corner into the room and finding a honey brown haired man in a crisp navy suit waiting. “Hello. I’m-”  
“Mr. Gunne.” The man stood up, shaking his hand firmly. “I hear you’re one of the best.” He rattled off.   
“Well, thank you. May I ask what you’re name is?”   
“Oh, we’ll get to that.” He waved it off, sitting down.  
Uriel copied his action, folding his hands on the table. “So, why don’t we talk about what you wish to protect and where you would like it to go.”  
“Well...you see these gems and gold, they came from Iraq.” He started off, staring straight at Uriel. “Two people actually brought them over.”  
“I’m not sure-”  
“Oh, trust me. You need to hear this to understand.” The whiskey-eyed man assured. “One of those people was greedy and a thief. The other was smart and opportunistic.” Uriel’s eyes snapped up to his as his face paled. “Together they got the motherlode of all treasures. I mean, artifacts that are believed to be biblical.” His tone was flat and serious.  
“I’m not sure that I’m following or that I can help you.”  
“Wait.” Gabriel held up a hand. “That’s just the intro. The real story is how they smuggled the treasure into the USA. Nothing went wrong. Perfect plan. You see I wanna be just like them. Get my treasure out without any complications.” He explained. “But of course I need a fall guy like the two of them. I mean they used Gadreel, so they could sell the treasure without any heat on them. You might know him.” By now Uriel’s expression was unreadable, but Gabriel guessed he was definitely scared.   
“Well, I’m not sure what you are exactly talking about...but…”  
“Don’t you?” Gabriel arched an eyebrow as he took the gold coin from his pocket and held it up. “Look familiar?” Uriel’s mouth was gaped. He didn’t speak, so Gabriel continued. “I’m not so sure now that you’re the best for this job I have. I wonder if Zachariah could help. What do you think?” Again, nothing left Uriel’s mouth. “Shall I flip the coin and see who gets to work with me? Wanna call it?” He smirked as he threw the coin in the air. “So? What’s it gonna be?”

You paced in the conference room as went over the case file, while Uriel shifted uneasily in his seat. After his talk with Gabriel, Uriel walked himself into the FBI building without any assistance.   
His eyes darted around, following your movements. “I want immunity.” Uriel demanded, giving you a look.  
Your eyes went to his and you started to chuckle. If he thought he could get off with just a little slap on the wrist, he was mistaken. “You’re funny,” you smiled over at him. “What you get depends on what you give me.” You snapped the file shut and sat down at the head of the table.  
Uriel leaned across the table, not hesitating a second. “Braxton looted the museum. He set the whole thing up. All I did was help him transport the good back here.”  
“You were his mule.” You commented. “What was your cut?”  
Uriel glanced away. “It doesn’t matter. I haven’t seen a dime.”   
“Not even this old ancient dime?” You arched an eyebrow as you placed the gold coin on the table. Uriel narrowed his eyes as he stared at it. “Prosecution hasn’t taken immunity off the table yet.”   
Uriel sighed. “I needed the money.”  
“Uh huh.” You tapped the file. “I looked at your portfolio. You lost a lot when the market crashed.”  
“I lost enough.” He answered bitterly. You shot him a look, which made him rethink. “Look, I still had access to the gold. So, I took some of the smaller pieces and turned them into some profit.”  
“And when you got scared about leaving a paper trail, you set it up so Gadreel was the fall guy.”  
“Wait a minute.” Uriel stuck a finger at you. “I didn’t want Gadreel to take the fall. Zachariah wanted him.”  
“So, all you did was get the prints and hair fibers, huh?” You sassed watching his eyes cast down at your words. “What I want to know is why you melted some of the pieces down.”  
Uriel bit his lip before answering. “He thought if we made it look like most of the gold was gone, you wouldn’t spend much time looking for it. Even after Gadreel was locked up.”  
“Where’s the gold now?”  
“I don’t know.” Uriel said exasperated.   
“He moved it on you?” You arched an eyebrow.  
“Yes. I promise that I don’t know.”  
You gave a small nod, not fully believing him. “Then you’re gonna help us find it.” You leaned forward, giving him your best imitating look.“You’re gonna tell Braxton that the FBI has been poking around. We’ve been talking to him too. He’ll believe you, don’t worry.”  
“He won’t trust me.” He argued, throwing his hands up.  
“He will if you tell him that the case against Gadreel is falling apart. And that he needs to unload the gold immediately.”   
“What if he gets spooked and wants to wait?” Uriel pushed.  
You were close to snapping at him, your voice was dangerously low. “Then you’ll have to convince him that you found a private buyer. A very rich and very discreet buyer.”

Gabriel slid his suit jacket on as he left the conference room and found Jo waiting for him. “So Braxton is willing to meet you at a private gallery later today?”   
“Uh huh. Apparently, I’m a wealthy handsome buyer who is going to solve all their problems.” He smirked, puffing out his chest.  
“You forgot to mention that you're humble, too.” She snickered.  
“Gabriel.” Sam called out as he approached the two with a file in hand. “This is your car to use.”   
With a quick glance of the car Gabriel started laughing at the model. “You’re joking, right?” He chuckled. “Right?” Gabriel stopped, taking in Sam’s serious expression. “Please be joking.”  
“It’s a Mercedes.” Sam pointed at the photo.  
“This isn’t even an S-Class. I need to look like I can drop a million on antiquities.” He explained, handing the file back to Sam. “This is ‘look what I kept in the divorce’.”  
“You can’t make this work?” Jo teased. “What kind of a con man are you?” Gabriel opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off again. “The Gabriel Novak I did my thesis on could’ve made this work.” She took the file from Sam and thrusted into Gabriel’s hands.

Gabriel’s apartment door swung in loudly, banging against the stopper as Gabriel raced in. He didn’t have much time to get things done and he knew that he couldn’t show up with that car. Luckily, his friend that he needed at the moment was asleep on his couch with a wine bottle dangling from his fingers. Gabriel made a note to yell at him for drinking his wine later. “Balthie.” Gabriel shook his friend’s shoulders quickly. “Wake up.”  
“Leave me alone.” He turned away, groaning into the fabric.  
“Come on, Balthie.” Gabriel tried again, but found his friend ignoring him. Then, he said the only thing that he knew would work. “Don’t make me get ice water.”  
“I’m up.” Balthazar jolted up, rubbing his face to clear away the sleepers. Gabriel smiled at the memory when he actually did threw ice water on him. “What the hell is going on? And why am I apart of it?” He mumbled.  
“Braxton is meeting with me today. Gotta appear like a serious buyer and I need a car.” Gabriel explained as he rifled through his suits. Only the cleanest and sharpest would work for this meeting otherwise Zachariah would know something was up.  
“I’ll get my Slim Jim.” Balthazar stated, picking up the wine bottle and putting it on the coffee table.  
“Can’t steal it.”  
“Sure.” Balthazar sarcastically replied, lounging back on the couch.

 

After some coaxing, Balthazar got dressed in his silver suit that looked just as sharp as Gabriel’s crisp black one. Together, they strutted down the sidewalk towards the car cleaning service. Gabriel took a step ahead, eyeing a guy cleaning a sleek black limo. “Excuse me sir.” Gabriel gave a serious expression. “Can you please step away from this car?”  
“Yeah, uh, okay.” The man stepped aside and then another guy pushed forward.  
“Hey! Do you need something?”  
“Yeah.” Gabriel sassed back, pulling out his FBI consultant badge. “Captain told you I was coming, right?” The other guy eyed the badge. “Says FBI.”  
“Whatcha talking about?”  
“One of your limos was involved in a 418 last night. I’m supposed to bring it back to the forensic motor pool.” Gabriel explained, then glanced over at Balthazar. “What’s the plate on that?”  
“XC7-32W.” Balthazar shouted back, crossing his arms.  
“We’re cleaning it.” The man told him.  
Gabriel shook his head. “Seger, get this guy out of here.”  
“Hey! I didn’t get no call.” The man yelled as Balthazar neared him.  
“Beat it.” Balthazar shooed him away. “This is our vehicle.” He opened the door, sweeping his finger over the interior. “Got gun shot residue.”   
Gabriel took a step forward, puffing out his chest. “How many of your guys touched this car?”  
“We’re a cleaning company.” The guy huffed out.  
“Really? Well, there’s two ways we can do this. One I take the car back with me and no one gets asked any questions. The second way, we assume whatever’s in the backseat belongs to one of you.”  
“Psh, nah dude. I don’t get paid enough for that.” He backed away from it. “Take it.”  
Gabriel nodded to him, satisfied with his answer. “Seger, give him a receipt.”   
Balthazar scribbled some things down before slapping the piece of paper to the guy’s chest. “There ya go chap.” Balthazar smiled, getting into the driver’s seat with Gabriel in the passenger.

You sat in the surveillance van with Sam by your side as you made sure sound and video was working. Suddenly a black limo appeared on the screen, Sam grabbed the headphones to listen. “We got a high roller coming through.”  
You watched as Balthazar got out and smoothed down his suit before gently opening the back door. You frowned as you knew that wasn’t the car you gave to Gabriel and now you wondered how he even got that one.   
Jo was the first to get out as they must’ve picked her up on the way as her cover was Gabriel’s business manager. Uriel was the next one to leave the limo with hesitant steps and then Gabriel strided out like he owned his own private island.  
“I thought we gave him a Mercedes.” you glanced over at Sam.  
He gave an innocent shrug. “Guess he made it work.” You rolled my eyes as I looked back at the screen. “That man looks familiar. Is he one of ours?” Sam pointed to Balthazar.  
“He’s Mr. Freely.” You smiled. “Nice guy.”  
Meanwhile, Gabriel saw how Uriel was getting and walked up next to him. “Relax. It’s gonna be fine.” He said, eyeing the building they were walking into.  
“You have no idea how dangerous Braxton is.” Uriel muttered back.  
“It’s just a game.” Gabriel responded. “Gotta play our cards right.”  
“Yes, but you should know when to fold as well.” Uriel shot him a look, opening the door.  
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a sour attitude.”   
“My ex-wife.” He said gruffly, then stopped at the entrance as Zachariah and his bodyguard approached them.  
“Uriel.” Zachariah greeted him, shaking his hand before eyeing Gabriel and Jo.   
“This is the gentleman I was telling you about.” Uriel motioned over to the two.  
Gabriel smiled, then nodded over to Jo. “She’s my business manager.”  
“Charmed to meet you.” Zachariah took Jo’s hand gently, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.  
“Likewise.” Jo smiled back, though Gabriel could tell she was uncomfortable.  
“Follow me.” Zachariah eyes swept over the group, motioning his hand to follow. His bodyguard stood on the sidelines, waiting for any mishaps to happen. He stayed close to Zachariah as they were lead further into the building. The room they finally stopped in had an abundance of artifacts like a museum with some behind glass cases. Gabriel didn’t hesitate to walk up, bending down to read the description of one of the pieces. “How long have you been collecting antiquities?”   
“Years.” Gabriel immediately replied, staring closer to the piece. “I also admire the occasional reproduction.” He added, moving to another piece.  
“Are you familiar with the Ptolemaic period?” Zachariah watched him.  
“I am.”   
“Shame the Greeks put an end to it.”  
Gabriel looked up from one of the pieces at Zachariah. “Shame you didn’t have a better history teacher.” He smiled, knowing that he was testing him. “Soter’s reign over Egypt ended after the death of Cleopatra in the Roman conquest of 30 B.C., not the Greek.” He rattled off, examining another piece.  
Zachariah smiled over at him, impressed. “Would you like to see the actual pieces then?”   
“Think I already have.” Gabriel murmured. “These aren’t reproductions.”  
“Good eye.”  
Uriel stepped forward, eyes darting back and forth between the pieces and Zachariah. “They’ve been here all along?”  
Zachariah patted Uriel’s shoulder. “I’ve always believed that the best place to hide something is in plain sight. Why is everything alright?” His narrowed at Uriel.  
“Of course.” Uriel said too quickly, shaking his head.  
On the other end of the line you had the same thought as Gabriel. “He’s not holding it together.” You told Sam. “Might have to go in.”  
“Smile, Uriel. It’s almost over.” You heard Zachariah say.  
Gabriel watched Uriel shift uncomfortably, ready to flee the scene at a moment’s notice. He tried to use his charm to calm the situation, but he knew Mr. Braxton was a smart man. “Can we move this along?” Gabriel glanced over at Jo and she opened the case. Stacks of hundreds filled the case.  
Zachariah nodded at his guard, slowly stepping back as his guard pulled out a gun. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Gabriel held out his hands. “What’s going on?”  
“Don’t play games with me.” Zachariah scolded him. “You’re with the FBI.”  
Before Gabriel could even come up with something to say, Jo grabbed the hidden gun in the case and held it up at the guard. “Technically, I’m just a consultant. She’s with the FBI.” He pointed over to Jo.  
“Regardless.” Zachariah frowned. “No need for a fifth wheel.” With that he bolted from the room, leaving Uriel and his bodyguard behind.  
Though you could only hear what was going on, you knew that he left. “Braxton is on the run.” You told the others in the truck before bursting through the back doors. “Sam, take the front exit. Go. You two others, go with him.”  
Back inside Gabriel had his hands up as Jo and the bodyguard had their guns trained on each other. “Looks like we have an old standoff.” Gabriel commented. “Didn’t realize it was high noon.”  
“No we don’t.” Jo smirked, nodding at Gabriel. “Shoot him. Then I’ll have you on murder too.” Gabriel gave her his best bitch face, but she wasn’t paying attention.   
Outside, you raced after Braxton as he came out the back door. “Hey!” You yelled out. “Don’t make me shoot you!” You hoped that might scare him to stop, but he didn’t. He kept running, ending up near the black limo with Balthazar singing along to opera.   
You noticed him stop, but it took a moment to register the gun he was pulling out. Seconds later, bullets flied and you ducked behind the building for cover. “Drop the gun!” You yelled from the corner you were hiding behind. “Sam, I need backup.” You said into your radio, peaking around the corner.  
Balthazar watched from the limo, sipping on some sparkling water. “Fucking Americans.” He huffed, putting the limo into drive. “Could’ve done without all this excitement for a day.”  
From your cover you heard the crash of a car and something heavy hitting the pavement. Curious, you creeped around finding Zachariah on the ground with his gun a little away. Rushing out from your spot, you kicked the gun away and pointed yours at the man lying on the ground. You glanced over at Balthazar, finding him giving you a little toast.  
“I was never here.” He told you rolling up the window before leaving.   
You let him go, thankful that he did something.   
Inside the scene played out quickly as Sam burst into the room with backup and shouted at the bodyguard to get down on the ground. It was over in a matter of seconds and Gabriel followed Jo out.   
It only took a few minutes to get more agents there and then Zachariah and his bodyguard were promptly arrested and put into the back of cars. Jo made sure everything went smoothly. You were placing Uriel into a back of one of the cars when Gabriel came up to stand by you. “I’ll make sure the courts know you helped.” You told Uriel before turning to your partner.  
“Looks like you can go home again.” He patted your shoulder.  
“Yep.” You smiled.

You returned to your home with a smile as Gadreel followed you in. You let him go past you as Hael shot up from her chair and ran into his arms. “Hey, sweetheart.” Gadreel chuckled, lifting her up easily.  
You moved around them, walking over to stand next to Anna. “I did it.” You told her, watching the couple make out in your living room.  
“Thank you so much.” Anna pulled you in for a hug.  
“Gadreel is free because of you.” You tried to remind her as your slightly struggled to breathe in her hold.   
“Either way, I’m happy.”  
“So am I.”


	8. Word of God

“Kali leaves you an hourglass with a map on it and this is where it leads you?” Balthazar huffed as he watched people rush around the two of them. But that’s what you get with standing in the Grand Central Station in New York City. What made Balthazar even grumpier was the fact that the sun had barely risen, leaving him a bit chilled in his light jacket. “She could’ve picked a more discrete setting,” he muttered.  
Gabriel ignored him as he held the hourglass close, staring off in search for clues. “It’d be something I’d recognize,” he told his friend, squinting as he thought he saw something.  
“Something important,” Gabriel added, inspecting another part of the place.  
“Important?” Balthazar scoffed. “How about Grand Central Station?” He let out a huff as Gabriel ignored his words. Moments like these made Balthazar glad he wasn’t dating anyone. His friend was like a lost puppy as he walked around the sideway trying to locate his lover’s hidden message. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the action.  
“Something familiar,” Gabriel breathed out, repeating the words in his head. He knew it had to correlate with the messages she already had sent him. Something dealing with a map or time. He had hoped having his friend to help would make it easier, but Balthazar seemed to be growing more negative by the minute.  
“She could’ve sent us anywhere, so she sends us to a place that leads everywhere?”   
Gabriel was about to respond to his friend’s remarks, but then a large ‘X’ caught his eye. “Balthazar.” Nodding up toward the letter, his friend followed his gaze. “‘X’ marks the spot.” Handing the hourglass to his friend, he made his way over to the ‘X’ shape under the bridge.   
“Are you sure you don’t wanna go to the oyster bar just down a ways? I happen to know a waitress there,” Balthazar tried, letting out a sigh when Gabriel used a bench as a makeshift ladder. Balthazar watched as Gabriel ran his fingers into a small hole under the ‘X’. He knew by how Gabriel’s face lit up that he found something.  
“Got something lodged up in here.” He smiled triumphantly as he took out a rolled up piece of paper. Balthazar sauntered over as Gabriel unrolled it, his whiskey eyes glancing over the letter.   
“Dear Gabriel. I heard you’re looking for me. Wish I could explain more, but time isn’t on our side. But-” He stopped reading, clearing his throat as he looked over the words. This couldn’t be right, Gabriel thought. He knew it was her handwriting, but it didn’t make sense.  
“Well, don’t stop.” Balthazar took the letter from him, finding where he left off. “But I need you to stop looking for me. No one can deny what we have….but it’s over. Please move on. Kali.” He finished, observing his friend carefully. “Sorry, mate.” He handed the letter back to Gabriel, patting his shoulder.  
“All of this for ‘move on’?” Gabriel breathed out, studying the words.  
“Yeah. Like the empty hourglass didn’t say enough.” Balthazar chuckled lightly, then spoke more seriously. “Wanna go to that oyster bar? It’ll cheer you right up.”  
“It’s ok, Balthie. I just need some time.” Gabriel brushed him off with a frown. Balthazar watched him walk into the crowd with worry starting to creep in for his friend.

Deciding to get some air and time to think about things, Gabriel had walked back to the apartment. A few minutes after stepping through the door, his alarm went off at the time he’d normally get up. Hitting the button, he made his way out onto the rooftop deck, pondering over the message. Leaning his chin into his hand, he stared at the table, hoping some idea would appear.  
He stayed like that for some time before hearing his door open. He guessed it was you and he was right as you walked through the doorway with a smile on your face.   
“Hey.” You were dressed in your usual FBI clothes with a folder tucked under your arm to complete your look.   
“Hey.” Gabriel flashed you a smile as you made your way over to him.  
“Have a good weekend?” You stood at the other end of the table.  
“Nothing too exciting,” Gabriel told you, mixing some sugar into his coffee cup. “Went to the park.”  
“Oh, good.” You nodded, surveying the city skyline. It didn’t seemed to matter the time of day as the view was always breathtaking. “Glad you’re getting out.”  
“Coffee?” Gabriel offered, setting a cup for you across the table.  
“Love to, no time.” You frowned at how the sweet smell filled your nose. “Got a stolen tablet.”  
“It’s Chuck’s Italian roast.” Gabriel tried again with a suggestive look.  
“It’s…” You paused, thinking it over. A cup couldn’t really hurt anything, but this case was important. “It’s a Word of God tablet.” You handed Gabriel the file as you eyed the empty cup.  
“Word of God? Wow.” He quickly read the description of the tablet. “Was it a church or museum heist?”  
“Neither, residential robbery.” You reached across, pouring yourself a cup. The steam tickled your nostrils as you breathed it in before taking a drink.   
“Impressive.” Gabriel closed the folder, smirking at how you had taken his offer on the coffee. “I’d love to meet the person who keeps an old stone tablet in their library.”

“Never been a really religious person, but aren’t there several ‘Words of God’?” Gabriel peered over at you as you drove to the house. You hadn’t left as early as you hoped since one cup quickly became two cups of coffee.   
You glanced over at him in his seat, glad that he finally put his feet down from the dash. “Kinda, if you really want to get into it. The thing with this one, though, it wasn’t a replica and was apparently whole. Rare find, making it a gold mine on the blackmarket.”  
“Got a photograph?”  
“Not in the file, but considering most ‘Word of God’ stuff is on stone tablets, I’m gonna guess it’s a stone tablet.”   
Gabriel rolled his eyes at your comment. “You don’t get enough credit for your deductive skills.”  
You ignored his remark, staring ahead at the road. “It’s worth is priceless and if the people who took it learn the FBI is on the case...they’re gonna wanna get rid of it, fast.”  
Gabriel agreed with what you said, especially the last part. “Can’t say there are many ancient stone religious tablets up for sale. The thing I’m more surprised with is how it made it through history without breaking.”  
“Yeah, making it valuable. Very valuable.” You gave him a hard stare as you stopped at a red light.  
“What you looking at me for?”  
“Just don’t want you to be tempted.” You looked back at the road. “Have to send you back to prison if you get out of line.”  
“Aw. You’re worried about me.” Gabriel teased, batting his eyelashes. “Don’t worry, you can’t get rid of me that easily.”  
“I know. And I know you didn’t steal it.”  
Gabriel’s head turned at your words. “How do you-you checked my anklet?”  
“Every morning. Kinda like checking the weather.” You nodded, surprised that he was shocked with what you said. “So what was so interesting about Grand Central Station?”  
You felt his whiskey eyes observing you carefully. “Oyster bar. Best in town,” He stated, crossing his arms. “I stayed within my two mile radius.”  
“Oh, I know,” You confirmed, watching as he jutted out his lower lip and sank back into his seat. “What? You’re gonna pout now?”  
“You don’t trust me,” He said in a small voice that reminded you of a child. “I thought we’d been together enough to develop something.”  
You shook your head. Part of you almost wanted to laugh at his behavior. “We have a working relationship that is based on me making sure you don’t get into trouble.” You reminded Gabriel, but that didn’t seem to satisfy him.

“Finally, you showed up!” The door opened before you even had the opportunity to knock. You and Gabriel were greeted by a slightly panicking teen, who shooed you inside to the second floor. “You guys are FBI, right?”   
“Uh yeah.” You nodded as you made your way up the stairs. “Are you the homeowner?” You eyed the dark haired teen.  
“No, my mom is, but what does that have to do with my stolen tablet?” He turned to face the two of you, finally stopping at what appeared to be the library.  
“Can we talk to her?” You glanced around, hoping she was nearby. “Sorry, what’s your name?”  
“Kevin.” He stated, looking irritated. “Look, I know more about what happened then she did. Maybe I’m under the age of twenty-one, but I’m still an adult. I can answer whatever you need to know.”  
You were slightly taken-aback by his words, but figured to go with it. “Okay...uh...first, was the tablet insured?”  
“Yes. Now let me show you where it was.” Kevin didn’t even turn to make sure you were following as he lead deeper into the library. He pointed at the empty glass case in front of the giant wooden desk. “Tuesday nights I typically have tutoring, but they let me out early. I came back here and there was someone, okay? He shoved me against the wall...thought I was gonna die.” He rattled off, motioning to the spot on the wall that he was talking about. “Anyways, I hit him...hard with a book. He said if I did it again he’d kill me.” He finished, facing the two of you again.  
“What’d you do?” Gabriel stepped forward, curiosity taking over.   
“Hit him again. This time harder.”  
You smiled, impressed with the kid’s guts. “Do you have a photo of the tablet? The report only had a description.”  
“Uh, yeah.” He nodded, glancing around trying to figure out where it was. “Let me go get it.” He left the two of you and as he made his way out of the room you heard someone coming down the stairs. You assumed it was his mother by the clicking of heels and was proving right as she entered the room.  
“Can I help you?” Despite her small frame, she commanded the room.  
“It’s okay mom. It’s the FBI. They’re here about my tablet.” You heard Kevin call from the other room.  
“Good. Glad you could make it.” She smiled as you shook her outstretched hand. “I’m Linda Tran.”   
“Nice to meet you. I hope it was okay that we talked to your son. He was able to give us some details.”  
“I’m sure he did. I hope you find those bastards, especially the one who threatened my son.” Her cool calm exterior was total opposite to her hard cold voice. Though, you’d probably feel the same if someone ever threatened any possible children you’d have.  
“We plan to. Can I ask...were you here when it happened?”  
“No. If I was they wouldn’t have gotten away.” Her voice was low as she spoke. “I was at work. Who would beat up a kid? That idiot. If I ever see him-”  
“What about your husband?” You cut her off, getting the idea of what she’d do.  
She had the same amount of venom in her voice. “Don’t know where he went, but if you ever find him, please do ask him not to come back. We’re fine on our own.”  
“Alright then.” You gave a small nod just as Linda’s phone went off.  
“Excuse me. I have some business to attend to.”  
“Of course. We’re almost done.” You smiled, watching her go. She gave a small wave as she answered the phone, descending down the stairs. You turned to Gabriel, keeping your voice down in case Kevin walked in. “We looking at an inside job?”  
Gabriel leaned closer to you, watching the doorway. “The thief knew the Tran’s schedule and nothing else was taken. Seems like a solid theory to me.”  
“Why don’t you help Kevin with that photo,” you told him, making your way to the stairs. “Linda, I have just a few questions for you.” You called out, hoping she hadn’t left quite yet.  
Just as you left, Kevin appeared with the photo in hand. “Is this alright?” He handed the image over. The image was of Kevin and his mom together in the library with the tablet encased in glass in front of the desk like it was supposed to be now.   
“Mom raised you by herself?” Gabriel asked as he peered at the details on the tablet.  
“Yeah. Dad wasn’t really in the picture.” Kevin admitted, then smiled at the pun. “Literally and figuratively, I guess.”  
“I can relate to that.” Gabriel smiled at the kid, handing the photo back. “Anyone you know of who would want to steal your prized tablet?”  
“Other than a cult or some priests? No.” He shook his head, then took in Gabriel. “You know, you don’t really seem like an FBI agent.”   
Gabriel chuckled lightly. “Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
“So, what are you doing with agent….”  
“Y/L/N. I just call her Y/N, though.” Gabriel told the kid, smiling. “I’m a consultant.”   
“What do you consultant about?”  
“Everything. I know my way around this type of thing.”  
“So, you’re gonna get my tablet back?” Kevin’s eyes lit up.  
“‘Course. It’s what we do.” He patted the kid’s shoulder.  
“Gabe?” You climbed the stairs, finding the pair of them looking as thick as thieves, which worried you bit considering one of them already was one. “You got the photo?”  
“Yep.”  
“Alright. Let’s go.” You nodded at Kevin, promising to get his tablet back.

Thanks to New York City, you had to park aways from the house. Despite the distance, it did give you time to go over things. Gabriel spoke up as soon as you were a couple yards outside of the house. “What’d you get from the mother?”   
“A name. Apparently Kevin has a girlfriend.”  
“Good for him.” He silently cheered for the nerdy kid. He didn’t know much about him, but if his prized possession was a stone tablet, then he really needed help.   
You pulled out your notes. “Yeah. Her name is Channing Ngo. Got an address and phone number. I called her to see if we could ask her some questions and she directed me to her lawyer.”  
“How old is she?”  
“Doesn’t matter. Lawyers make it difficult.”   
“So, the girlfriend helps to steal the tablet...why?” Gabriel brushed his hair back.  
“Well, while Kevin and his mom live in that nice estate...Channing lives in an apartment. Linda told me that she’s been going through some financial difficulty.”  
“Got motive. Now we just need the name of the guy Channing is working with.”  
“Yep. Not gonna be easy.” You nodded, slowly down as you neared your car.  
“Why not? I could just talk to her.”  
“You?” You blinked at Gabriel.   
“I’m a consultant, not technically FBI…” He argued.  
“Consultant on tenuous probation.” You narrowed your eyes at him.  
“As I’m constantly reminded.” He rolled his eyes. “Is there anything illegal about me talking to her?”  
You thought that one over. “You can’t threaten her.”  
“Don’t plan to.”  
“Or lie to her.” You gave him a look as you stopped at your parking spot.  
“That could be a bit tricky.”  
“Gabriel.” You said sternly.  
He held up his hands. “Fine. No lying. I’ll just ask for a name.”

Gabriel leaned against the iron fence outside of Channing’s apartment building with a newspaper in hand. Thanks to the information Linda gave you, he found the place and found out that Channing was due back any time from her music lessons.   
Within moments, Gabriel saw her walk closer in his peripheral view. “Tell me, Channing.” He spoke once she was a foot away, getting her attention. “Does Kevin know you helped to steal his tablet?”  
“You can’t be here.” She sassed back, not even denying it. “My lawyer-”  
He cut her off with a look of ‘oh please’ as he folded up the newspaper. “First, hiring a lawyer makes you look guilty.”   
“He told me not to talk to the FBI.” She crossed her arms, not giving in.  
“Do I look like an FBI agent to you?” Gabriel mirrored her stance, staring her down.  
After some moments, her expression wavered. “Who are you then?”  
“Think hard.”  
“Did he send you?” She bit her lip, shifting in her spot.  
“What do you think?” He arched an eyebrow at her.  
Her stance completely broke as she stepped forward. “Crap. I'm sorry, okay?”  
“Kevin wasn’t supposed to be there. Now he’s a witness.” Gabriel stated.  
“It wasn’t my fault. His tutor let him leave early. How was I supposed to know?” She pleaded. “Just, please don’t hurt him.”  
“It’s not me you need to convince.” Gabriel played, thinking of what she had said so far.  
“Tell him...tell him I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause trouble. I’m his girlfriend, I can do it.”  
“He’s ready to sit with a sketch artist. Already tried his own hand at drawing too.” Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “This makes it harder for him to sell the painting.”  
“How about-? Here.” She dug into her purse, pulling out all her cash and counting it. “I got some money. I got...three-hundred dollars. Just please don’t hurt him.”  
“Three-hundred? Really?”  
Channing panicked. “Alright...what about a check? I could write him a check. Will that work?”  
Gabriel hemmed and hawed for a moment. “That could work.”

“She wrote you a personal check to the guy who helped her steal the tablet?” You stared down at the paper in your hands, not truly believing it.  
Gabriel shrugged, smirking a little. “She really wanted me to have it. Didn’t leave me much room to turn her down.” You gave him warning look. “No threats. No lies. I just let her talk.”  
“I’m calling this a gray area.” You told him, shaking your head. “Can’t believe you got the name.”  
“Yeah. Do you know this Metatron Armstrong?” Gabriel tapped the check.  
“Yeah. He’s a bad guy.”  
“I figured.” Gabriel nodded, not surprised by the way Channing was acting. “What about Kevin? If Metatron figures out he’s talking to us...the poor kid could be in real danger.” He thought of how the kid managed to hit the guy with a book twice, but Gabriel didn’t think his luck would happen again. But if his mom was home, things might turn out differently.  
“Let’s catch this bastard before that happens.”


	9. Metatron

You sat in the conference room as a video of Metatron played on the screen. Sam paused the footage as he passed you the file the FBI had on him. “We’ve been sitting on him for the past two days.” He pressed play, letting you see more of what they gathered. “They’ve been going to every high-end gallery in the city offering the tablet.”  
“Who’s that?” You pointed at the strong man keeping step with Metatron as they walked.   
“The muscle? Ezekiel.” Sam rattled off. “Ex-military. The man who stole the painting.”  
You smirked at the bruises on his face. “Looks like Kevin wasn’t kidding when he said he put up a fight.”  
“Kid got some skill.” Gabriel admired. “So, what do they do exactly?”  
You tossed Gabriel the file. “Metatron is a high-end loan shark. He makes questionable loans with big corporate money. Get behind on your payment, he’ll firebomb your office.”   
“Ouch.”  
“Good news is you get to meet him tomorrow.”  
“How’d you manage that?” He rifled through the file, not really reading it.  
“I set it up.” A beautiful redhead walked into the conference room. Whiskey eyes shot up and over to the curvy figure.   
“Gabriel.” You frowned at how they were already eye-fucking one another. “This is Taryn Vandersant. She’s a buyer at the Lambert gallery and is nice enough to help us on this one.”  
“I convinced Metatron that I have a wealthy client who’s interested in the tablet.” She smiled over at your partner. For some reason, the action made you uneasy.  
“How much is he asking?” Gabriel stepped closer to her, making your uneasiness grow.  
“Five million.”  
You decided it was enough, cutting between the two of them. “We’ve arranged to have the exchange happen at the gallery, Gabe.” Though, your little intrusion didn’t break them up. “Sam, let’s get her prepared.”   
“This should be fun.” Taryn winked, following Sam out of the room.  
Gabriel turned to you with a large smile on his face. “What?” He stopped at your expression.  
“Have you ever met a woman who didn’t want you?”  
“Yeah.” He nodded. “You. But, there’s always time to change that.”  
You rolled your eyes. “Keep dreaming.”  
“I will.” He smirked as you walked away.

The next morning, Gabriel paced around the apartment shirtless as he looked at Kali’s note. The familiar strokes of her writing made his heart ache. Whiskey eyes scanned each thing over and over, making the words almost blur together.   
Letting out a heavy sigh, the Trickster plopped down on his bed. Remembering how they used to communicate, Gabriel proceeded to fold the piece of paper to try to see if any of the words matched up. With each miss, his brows furrowed more. It seemed like hours he played with the words to match something, anything up. Soon the paper turned to a crinkled mess in his hands.  
He knew Balthazar would’ve probably given up at this point, but he couldn’t do that with Kali. It didn’t matter if no one understood their love because as long as just the two of them did that was all that mattered.   
“Please be it.” He whispered to himself as he worked the paper again. This time, though, instead of a clash of letters it spelled out a message. “Here Friday. Noon.” Gabriel read, mentally patting himself on the back. “See you soon, cupcake.” He smiled, then glanced over at the clock. “Shit.” Scrambling out of bed, Gabriel quickly got dress almost forgetting what time he was supposed to meet you at the gallery.  
Despite the time he made it there just as the FBI was putting finishing touches on the hidden cameras and audio. Entertaining himself he studied some of the modern art pieces in the white gallery space. One that caught his eye was a six-foot tall block of fabric with different hues of blue that grew darker towards the bottom.  
“Now that is a load of laundry.” Gabriel heard your voice as you came into the space.  
“Just sold for a hundred and twenty thousand.” He informed you.  
“What? Seriously?” You stared at the piece, unimpressed.   
“It’s art. Can’t put a price on it.”  
“Sure.” You rolled your eyes. “Hey! You all set?” You looked up at one of your agents who was installing a camera.  
“All set.” They called down.  
“Well then, let’s get wired.” Taryn’s voice carried across the space as she came around the corner.  
Gabriel sent you a wink before following her to the back where the equipment was stored. You shook your head at the exchange, heading to the van to keep watch.  
As you prepped in the van, Taryn and Gabriel were left in the building. “Five million in cash, that’s sure a lot.” Taryn peered over at Gabriel as she buttoned up her shirt to hide the wire. “Tempted?”  
Gabriel gazed over at her, then back down as he buttoned up his own white crisp shirt. “Why would you think that?”   
“Y/N warned me about you.” She admitted, straightening her skirt.   
“Warned you?” He arched an eyebrow, taking a step forward. “Sounds ominous.”   
“Yeah.” Turning away, Taryn changed the subject. “Is it true you got out of prison?”  
Gabriel gave her a smile. “Does it look like I just got out of prison?”  
“She said you’d do that.” Taryn smirked.  
“What?” He figured she was talking about you.  
“Redirect.”   
Letting out a sigh, he nodded. “Yes, I just got out of prison. Yes, Y/N is the person who put me there. And yes, I’m tempted. Now that we’ve played twenty questions, shall we?” He gestured towards the front end where Metatron was supposed to enter.  
“One more.” She took a step forward. “Is it true you escaped for a girl?”  
“Some people think I’m a romantic.” Gabriel smoothed down his jacket, not wishing to bring up Kali with a stranger. He turned away from her, looking at the door again.  
“Did she?” Taryn asked softly.  
“I’ll let you know.” He paused to give her one last look before leaving. He felt her eyes on him as he strided into the gallery.   
From the van, you heard everything from the conversation. Part of you wish you had been there to see his face and know if he was still looking for her, but there were more important things at hand.   
“Metatron is crossing the street.” One of your agents radioed in.   
“Thanks.” You replied into your walkie, then turned in your seat to Sam. “Let’s get a camera on that.”   
“Okay.”  
Within seconds you saw the man with his bodyguard just outside. “Okay. They are approaching the gallery.” You spoke into the walkie, knowing Gabriel and Taryn could hear. “Team One has an eye on him.”  
Inside, Taryn took that as her cue to go. With long strides, she made it to the door as Metatron stepped in with Ezekiel behind him carrying a case. “Good to see you again.” She greeted them.  
“Splendid to see you too.” Metatron gave her a crooked smile.  
“As I told you on the phone…” Taryn turned to see Gabriel walking into the space. “...this is Mr. Devore.”  
Gabriel stopped, putting his hands in his pockets and puffed out his chest. “Call me George.”  
“Alright, big boy.” Metatron mused. “Shall we?”  
Taryn nodded, leading the three men into a more private room. Ezekiel opened the case when everyone was inside, revealing the tablet. Gabriel silently took hold of the ancient rock with glove-covered hands and carefully inspected it.  
“It’s smaller than I expected.” He commented thoughtfully.  
“But it’s all there.” Metatron pointed out like his pride had been hurt. “Complete Word of God.”  
“Yes, a rare find.” Gabriel nodded.  
“Impossible.” The man argued.   
“Yes. Yes.” Gabriel waved him off.   
“The money?” Ezekiel piped up. Taryn nodded, taking out one of the cases and opening it for them to see.   
“There’s four cases total with five million.” She added as Metatron studied the money. “Good?” He nodded. “Good. Now I need to authenticate it.”  
“Of course.” Metatron watched as Gabriel handed the tablet over to Taryn. “You know...I’d love to hear the story of you two. I mean you have to have interesting lives or something.”  
“Or something.” Gabriel gave the man a tight smile.  
“Oh, come on. Entertain me a little.”  
“Why don’t you shut the door and then perhaps your mouth?” Gabriel sternly replied.  
Metatron grumbled something as he began closing the door. He glanced outside, noticing some ‘workers’ watching through the window. He first thought nothing of it, but then realized that they were undercover. “Could we hurry this up?”   
“Of course. Lights please.” As the lights went off Taryn quickly scanned the rock and read the results on the computer. “Same markings as others with dust and other minerals that date and locate the tablet to the correct place or origin.” As she spoke Metatron sent a look to his bodyguard from across the room. Ezekiel gave a slight nod, silently reaching for his gun. “This is definitely it.”  
Just as she was done, Metatron and Ezekiel raised their guns at both of them. “That’s great, but would either of you care to explain why there are people signaling each other outside?”  
You were a bit nervous in the van as you heard the guns. Sam picked up on it and asked if they should go in, but you told him not to. You knew Gabriel could get this under control.  
“Who are they?” Metatron narrowed his eyes.  
“If you brought the FBI into this-” Gabriel began.  
“It wasn’t me!” Metatron shouted like a little kid blamed for their sibling’s mistake.  
“I told you to keep a low profile.” Taryn added in.  
“You were careless. Flashing that tablet around like you were some sort of God.” Gabriel spitted out.  
“Oh, shut up pretty boy.” Metatron waved the gun at him.  
“They followed you here.” Gabriel added, ignoring the gun.  
Metatron contemplated for a moment then grabbed one of the cases. “Something isn’t right. We’re leaving.” He moved to the back of the room where a hidden exit was located. “Payment for my time.” Metatron bolted as soon as Ezekiel grabbed the tablet and had it back in the case.  
“He sounds like a prostitute.” Gabriel remarked.  
“That’s it. Move.” You shouted from the other side. “He’s leaving the rear of the building.” You said into your walkie as agents rushed past you. “Go. Go. Go.”  
Though they had guns, Gabriel ran after them to keep an eye on them as they made their way out the back. From up ahead he heard something loud, making him run faster to find the source. Finding the back door open, he gingerly peered out.   
There on the ground was an unconscious Ezekiel and a pinned down Metatron with a bloody nose. Their guns were kicked away from them, making them much less threatening. And keeping the man on the ground was one unarmed Linda Tran. Her eyes flashed up to Gabriel, ready for another fight, but once she recognized him she dropped her fists.   
“Nice work, Tiger Mommy.” Gabriel whistled out, enjoying the view.   
“They hurt my son.”  
Gabriel held his hands up. “You don’t need to explain it to me.”  
“Good.” Linda pressed her heel harder on Metatron’s crotch. “You stay down.” He let a whimper and remained where he was. “This belongs to my son.” She snatched up the tablet.   
You skidded around the corner with a group of your men to witness the scene before you. “Holy...what the….oh my…” You breathed out, lowering your gun. “Mrs. Tran?”  
“Ah, Agent Y/L/N. Please take these criminals into custody.”  
“Sam, you got that?” You stared at her as Sam went and handcuffed the bloody man. “Mrs. Tran, what are you doing here?”  
She stepped away from the scene and made her way towards you with a confident walk. “I went to your office because I needed to talk to you, but you weren’t there. So I asked around and found out you were here. Good thing I showed up when I did.” She glared at Metatron as he passed her cuffed and bound for a police car.   
“You showed up knowing that there would be dangerous criminals?”  
“They hurt my son.” She hissed. “They’re lucky I didn’t really hurt them.”  
“Okay.” You were a little stunned.  
“Now, if you excuse me. This tablet has a home that it belongs in.” Linda gave you a curt nod before walking away.   
You let her go, impressed by what she did, but also happy that you got the bad guy. “That was something.” You said as Gabriel came up to you.  
“I’ll say. Sure has an arm on her. Explains where her son got it.”  
“Yeah.”  
“So case closed?” Gabriel glanced down at his watch.  
“I guess. I’m sure the next one is already on my desk.” You let out a sigh, already thinking of the paperwork you would have to do for this case.  
“See you tomorrow then?”  
“Yep.” You nodded. “Try not to get into too much trouble.”   
Gabriel only gave you a smirk as he left.

Outside at Central Station, Gabriel waited as the clock struck noon. Peering around, he didn’t see the familiar dark hair or dark skin that belonged to Kali. Balthazar lingered by the door with his arms crossed.  
“Forbidden romantic meetings kind of a personal thing, Balthie.” Gabriel grumbled at his friend.  
“Pretend I’m not here.” He waved him off, but Gabriel remained firm. “What? What if the guy with the ring shows up? What if he planted the note?”  
“He didn’t.”  
“Sure, mate.” Balthazar rolled his eyes. “When a little red dot appears on your chest, you’ll be happy that I’m here.” He patted Gabriel’s shoulder.  
“Enough.” Gabriel hissed out, moving away from his friend.  
Balthazar forced himself not to roll his eyes again. “Okay. What if she wrote it three days ago or maybe three months ago?”  
“She’ll be here.” Gabriel gritted his teeth, focusing on the surroundings.   
Suddenly a payphone started to ring. They both looked over where the sound was coming from, then shared a knowing look before Gabriel bolted to it. He picked up with his outstretched hand.  
“Kali?”   
“Gabriel?”  
Her voice erupted butterflies in Gabriel’s stomach. “Where are you?” He tried to remain focused as he glanced around, trying to see if he could find her.  
“I don’t have much time.” She said in an even tone.  
“I kinda got that from the hourglass.” Gabriel chuckled lightly. “Where are you?” Before she could answer, Gabriel heard a car honking at the other end of the line. “You’re here.” His whiskey eyes scanned the area.  
“Gabriel? You still there? Gabriel?”  
Finally, he found her up on a bridge in her favorite red blouse. She was as beautiful as always with her hair gently be brushed by the wind. “Hi.” Their eyes met from across the distance.  
“Hi.” She gave him a small smile.  
“Stay there. I’m coming-” Gabriel was about to end the call to race up to her, but her voice stopped him.  
“No. We don’t have time for that. He’s close.”  
“The man with the ring?” Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the mention of him. The man keeping his love away.  
“Yes.”  
“I don’t care.”  
“Listen.” She barked out. “I need you to tell me where you hid everything.”  
“What?” He wasn’t expecting that. An ‘I love you’ or something else like how he could save her.  
“The money. The bonds. The art. All of it.”   
“Why?”  
She paused a moment. “He wants something. Something you took, something you hid.”  
“I hid a lot of things.”  
“I know.” Kali glanced over her shoulder. “Give him everything if you must. He’ll leave me alone if he gets what he wants.”  
“Who is he?”  
“I can’t tell you.” Kali shook her head.  
“Why? Kali, I’ll protect you.” Gabriel pleaded.  
“This is the only way, my angel.” Her eyes softened. “You told me to trust you. Well, now you need to trust me. Just tell me where everything is.”  
“No.” He answered after he thought it over. “It’s the only leverage I got.” Kali nodded because she understood, but she also wanted to be free. Gabriel couldn’t take it any longer. He needed to be by her side again. “Just stay up there. I’m coming to you.” He told her, letting the phone drop as he ran to her.  
“Gabriel!” Balthazar shouted after his friend. “Kali?” He picked up the phone.  
“Tell Gabriel I love him.” Her voice was low and sad. “Tell him it’s the only way.”  
With that, the line went dead as Kali disappeared into the crowd. By the time Gabriel got up there, she was long gone. He jogged around the area, but couldn’t find any trace of her.


	10. Man with the Ring

“This movie is terrible.” Gabriel complained, stretching out on the couch. “And it’s all in French.”  
“Shh.” Balthazar sipped some of his wine. “Read the subtitles.”  
“Yeah. Like that’s supposed to make it better.” Gabriel grumbled, taking a large gulp of his wine. “Plus is she really that desperate?” He pointed to the dark haired beauty onscreen. “Talk about a cliche.” Balthazar shushed him again. “Anyway, you’re supposed to be here to help me with figuring out what the name with the ring wants.”  
“What do you think he wants?” His friend asked, turning away from the T.V.  
“Not sure. I’ve stolen a lot of stuff in my time.”  
“What about Poe’s Tamerlane book?”   
Gabriel shook his head as he took another drink. “Sold that awhile back. Oh! The Tamayo painting.”  
“Hardly worth it.” Balthazar chuckled.   
“Washington’s love letters.”  
“Why’d you even take those? Like was it a gift for Kali or something?” Gabriel opened his mouth to comment, but his friend was focused on the movie that was still playing. “This is my favorite part.”   
Gabriel wasn’t sure what was all happening in the movie, but the pretty girl from before slapped a man before kissing another guy. His friend seemed to find some part of it funny, but Gabriel just shook his head. “So I guess I’m back at square one.” He mumbled, leaning back.  
“Cheer up, mate. At least you got to see your girl.” Balthazar patted his knee, still engrossed with the movie.  
“Yeah. You’re right.”

A couple days later and Gabriel still couldn’t figure out what the man with the finger could possibly want. He had Balthazar looking for leads with the photo, with Kali and with things he had previously stolen. But so far his friend hadn’t found anything, which is why he was sulking at his desk in the FBI office.  
You had noticed the change in your partner, who usually had a smirk on his face and cracking jokes with your other agents in the office, but he had turned silent. Instead, he spent most of his time staring off into the distance at his desk wearing a frown.  
So, you decided to take him out to lunch, but as you walked up to his desk you started to have second thoughts. Anna’s voice played at the back of your mind with the words ‘date’ and ‘handsome’ playing over and over. You shook your head as you stopped at his desk. Gabriel hadn’t even so much as glanced at you as you stood there.  
“Gabe?” You peered down at your partner.   
“Huh? Oh, Y/N!” He gave you a small smile, but it didn’t fool you. “Got us a case?”  
“Nope. I’m taking you out to lunch.”   
“Why?” He eyed you suspiciously.   
You let out a sigh. “Because it’s lunchtime and I’m hungry. I assume you are too.” Gabriel opened his mouth to decline, but his stomach spoke for him. “Alright then. Shall we?” You gestured to the elevator, waiting for Gabriel to grab his jacket.

You ended up at a nice restaurant that was famous for its desserts. Though as you looked through the menu, Gabriel hadn’t even mentioned the list of chocolate delights they had or all the flavors of ice cream you could order. Now you knew something really was wrong.  
After some bites of your food, once it came, you decided to break the small talk. “Gabriel.” You began, watching him chew on some steak. “You alright?”  
“In regards to what?”  
“You seem a bit down lately….after our last case...you just don’t-”   
“Everyone has a bad day now and then.” Gabriel cut you off, wiping his face.  
“I know.” You nodded. “You just seem..out of it. Is there something I should know?”  
Gabriel frowned. “You already know my exact location every second. Do we really need to share any more than that?” His worry of Kali was turning his mood sour and he couldn’t tell you because you wouldn’t understand. You thought he was down with her and you’d probably put him back in prison if he even mentioned her name. He had more important things to deal with than if you were worried about him.  
You were taken aback by his words, regretting taking him out to talk to him. “I’m sorry. I just...nevermind. Let’s just go back to work.”  
“Yeah...I’ll catch up.” He brushed you off, heading to the bathroom. You thought about staying but decided to let him cool off.  
In the bathroom, Gabriel splashed his face with cold water. He felt bad about getting nasty with you, but he really didn’t want to talk. He wanted to go into action and help Kali. He couldn’t give her everything, though, that was all he had going for him.  
His phone started to ring as he dried off his hands. He saw that it was Balthazar calling and answered right away. “Hi, Balthie.”  
“I got some information for you.”   
“What?” Gabriel checked to see if anyone could hear him, but it was empty. “Is it about Kali?”  
“It’s about the man with the ring.” His friend answered, pausing for a moment. “Gabriel….Kali was right. It is dangerous. He’s dangerous.”  
“Who is he?” He demanded.  
“I don’t know for sure, but he’s FBI. I know that much.”  
Gabriel processed the information. “How?”  
“A buddy of mine has a cousin in Interpol. She recognized him I guess by the ring.” Balthazar explained. “Mate, it could be anyone in the FBI.”  
Gabriel didn’t say anything back as he listened to his friend. Someone in the FBI had Kali. You, his partner, could have one of your agents have her. What if you were still stuck on trying to solve those old crimes, those whispers and rumors of what he had done. He trusted you to some degree, but what if you’d been lying the whole time?


	11. Diamonds Are A Thief's Best Friend

“So you’re sure he’s FBI?” Gabriel glanced over at his friend as they strolled down the street.   
“Yes.” Balthazar took a sip of his coffee. “I told you already.”  
“I just want to make sure.”  
“What? Hate the idea of your FBI girlfriend being evil?” He teased. Gabriel stopped in his tracks at the comment. “What? Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you look at her...or talk about her.”  
Gabriel sent him a glare. “Y/N is attractive, but I have a different girl on my mind at the moment.”  
“Uh huh.” His friend started walking again. “So, what are you gonna do about this FBI thing, mate? Any suspects?”  
Gabriel let out a sigh. He did hate the thought of you being the one responsible for Kali, especially since he was starting to trust you. You showed him a world similar to his own, but the anxiety of being caught was on someone else. “How many field offices does the FBI have?”   
“Fifty-six, not including resident agencies.”   
“Then I have a lot of suspects.” Gabriel glowered at the ground.  
Balthazar paused, tapping his coffee mug thoughtfully. “How do we draw him out?”   
“We don’t. It’s his move.” Gabriel stopped a few paces ahead, turning back to his friend. Just as he was about to say more Gabriel’s cell phone rang. He peeked at the caller I.D. before answering it. “Morning, Y/N.”  
“Where are you?” You got right down to business. Your plate was already cleared from breakfast and you were ready to start the day.  
“Within my two mile radius.” Gabriel shot back. “Where are you?”  
You rolled your eyes at his comment. “I’m at my dining room table.”   
“Oh, is Anna there? Tell her I say ‘hi’.” He cheerfully replied.  
You glanced over at Anna who was busy with her event planning business. “Gabriel says ‘hi’.”  
“Aw, that’s sweet of him.” She smiled over at you. “Tell him that he’s got a nice ass.”  
“Anna!” You flushed at her words, hoping Gabriel didn’t hear her.  
“Sorry, I forgot.” Anna smirked. “You should tell him that he has-”  
“Zip it.” You muttered at her, moving away from your roommate. “Anyways, Gabriel, we’ve got a suspected jewelry heist.”  
“I’m intrigued.” Your partner smiled at the other end of the line, hearing something before about having a nice butt.  
“Meet me at 14th and 9th in thirty.”   
“That’s Le Joyau Precieux. I’m more intrigued.” He turned to Balthazar, raising an eyebrow.  
“Yes, the most expensive clothing boutique in the city.” You shared a look with Anna. “Of course you’d know it. Well, you’re gonna love this then.”   
“Sounds fun.” Gabriel ended the call.  
“So what do I do then?” Balthazar finished his drink.  
“Nothing.”  
“You can’t leave me out of the fun. What about you?” He crossed his arms.  
“I got to suffer through another day of work.” Gabriel sighed out, wishing he could take some time off to figure things out.  
“At least you’re work has a beautiful agent.” Balthazar pointed out.  
“Like you have issues finding women.”   
“Or men.” Balthazar added. “I hate to discriminate love.”  
“Of course you do.” Gabriel nodded. “See ya later.”  
After you ended the call with Gabriel you took your plates to the sink with Anna following you. “So what happened at Le Joyau?” She asked, putting her plates on top of yours.  
“Don’t know yet.” You dried off your hands, smoothing your navy blouse. “They called this morning and were light on the details. They may or may not have been robbed.”  
“So they called the FBI, not the police?” Anna frowned, plucking a hair off your shirt.   
“Thanks and yes. Must be my reputation, I guess.” You moved through the apartment, finding a pair of shoes to wear with your outfit. “I don’t know what could be so valuable at a clothing store.”  
Anna dug through the closest, picking out the perfect pair. “Hopefully it has nothing to do with the promotion.”   
You thanked her, slipping the shoes on. “What promotion?” You inspected yourself in the mirror.  
“They’re displaying the famous Jones Diamond.”  
“Well then. That probably has something to do with it.” You hugged her, then left. 

Le Joyau was one of the weirder boutiques you ever had the chance to go into. White curved walls with models frozen in place, so much so that they appeared to be mannequins instead, and not much clothing for a place that was supposed to sell it. Gabriel didn’t seem bothered as he marveled at each piece and each model.  
“Don’t see this everyday...except maybe if you’re you.” You eyed the trickster, then turned as a woman approached. “Hi. Agent Y/N Y/L/N.” She nodded, then strutted away to hopefully find the manager. “It’s like the Buckingham Palace.” You stared at one of the models.  
“I’ve been to Buckingham Palace. This is better.” Gabriel winked at one of the girls.  
You rolled your eyes just as another woman showed up. She reeked of expensive with her high fashion clothes and perfect hairstyle. “Agent Y/L/N?” Her voice was kept low to make sure no one overhead.  
“Yes.” You smiled.  
“This is a delicate situation. I appreciate if we could keep this discreet.” She smiled for show, but you could see the panic in her eyes.  
“Keep what discreet?” You arched an eyebrow. “You were a little vague on your telephone call.”  
“You’re aware of this promotion?”  
You nodded, glancing over at the diamond that was set into a necklace around a model’s neck. “A display of the largest diamond ever to be discovered in North America.”  
“Thirty-four carat diamond set in platinum.” Gabriel rattled off, eyeing the beauty. You gave him a look, making sure he wasn’t getting any ideas.  
“It may have been stolen.” The manager continued.   
“Worried it’s a forgery?” Gabriel stepped a bit closer, getting a better view.  
“Yes.”  
You stood next to the former con-man, reminding him you were there. “What makes you think it’s a fake?” You glanced over your shoulder at the lady.  
“Follow me, please.” She gestured, leading into the back of the store. You went to follow, but then Gabriel wasn’t behind you. You yanked him away from gawking at the possible fake diamond, earning a mumble of protest from him. In the back, she had one of her staff members pull up some footage as she spoke. “When I arrived this morning everything was as it should be. We removed the necklace from the vault, opened the show as planned. Later, when we were doing our mandatory review of last night’s security tapes we saw this.”  
“Saw what?” Gabriel leaned over the staff’s shoulder, watching as the vault was visited by a masked figure.   
“That’s your vault?” You took in the design and layout of it. It was simple and mirrored the same design as the boutique itself.  
“Yes. The necklace was stored there for ten hours between its arrival last night and the opening of the show this morning.” She informed you as you watched the masked man push the small table that was in the vault to the wall. Suddenly, the camera went black as the masked man covered it somehow.  
“That’s your first clue?” You shook your head. “Why is the necklace still on the model?”  
“It’s opening day.” She defended. “This is the promotional event of the year.”  
“I don’t care what it is.” You raised your voice a bit. “You’ve got a masked man entering your vault. I’m shutting you down.” The manager opened her mouth in objection, but you cut her off. “Now. I mean it. I’m calling this in.”  
She couldn’t stop you as later Sam and Jo arrived to help clear the place out. As Sam was commanding some couple to leave, the model wearing the diamond necklace swerved around, confused at what was happening.  
“What’s going on?” The model blinked at Gabriel.  
He gave her a charming smile. “You just became a very beautiful crime scene.” He informed her before turning to see you enter the front of the boutique.  
“Jo, have all the models wait over there.” You gestured to the area. “Nobody leaves.”  
“Ok.” She nodded, heading off to do her job.  
The manager followed close behind you, trying to stop you from making a big deal of it. “We’re not positive it’s a counterfeit. Our appraiser’s still on a plane. If it turns out to be a mistake, the money we would lose, not to mention our credibility, would be-”  
You cut her off, nodding at Gabriel. “I’ve got my own appraiser.” You heard the manager let out a loud sigh as you went over to Gabriel who was still by the model.  
“Hello again.” He smirked, putting on white gloves. “Now…” He bent forward, trying to see the diamond clearly as it was still on the dark haired model. Trying to help, the model pushed out her chest, but that only made a show of something else. It was awkward to watch as Gabriel practically had his face in her boobs.  
“Is it fake?” You tried to speed things up.  
“She’s talking about the necklace, right?” Jo whispered to Sam as they watched. Sam bit his lip to stop any laughter from coming out.  
“It’s beautiful work.” Gabriel stared at the piece.  
“Thank you.” The model smiled down at him.  
“Guess that answers that question.” Sam whispered back to Jo.  
“Just take it off her.” You huffed as Gabriel got even closer.  
“I’m trying to preserve the crime scene.” He glanced over at you.  
“It’s preserved.” You crossed your arms.  
“Alright then.” The model moved around, letting Gabriel take the necklace off of her. He got a better view of it as he held it up into the light. It didn’t take him long to tell if it was real or not. “It’s synthetic.”  
“That can’t be possible. Not that size.” The manager lady argued. “It doesn’t exist.”  
“Well, this one exists, so I guess you’re argument is wrong.” Gabriel fired back, letting her see the diamond for herself.  
She let out a gasp as she confirmed his findings. “I don’t know how this could have happened. No one knew when the necklace was to arrive or where it was supposed to be stored.”  
“Alright.” You glanced at Sam and Jo. “I’m gonna need alibis from everyone who worked here and anybody who knew the diamonds were in the vault.” They nodded before going to work. “What about our boy with the mask? You got surveillance on how he got in?” You asked the manager who appeared to still be in shock.  
“Our security cameras only record what happens on the floor and in the vault itself.” You could see that she was mentally beating herself up as she spoke. “We don’t record the hallways. We have a back door, but the alarm was never triggered. He must’ve tampered with the system.”  
“You think he hacked the alarm?” You peered over at Gabriel, who was busy flirting with the model “Hey!” You got his attention. “Hacked the alarm?”  
“Oh yeah. It’s possible if you could find the camera’s blind spots and sneak past.” He pointed overhead.  
“Is that what you’d do?”   
Gabriel paused, observing you. “It’s one option.”  
“Alright.” You put your focus back on the manager. “I’m gonna confiscate your surveillance video, the necklace-”  
“Oh, and we’ll need you for questioning.” Gabriel finished for you, winking at the model. “Tell me. What’s it like to be a model. I bet it’s fun. Walking around catwalks-”  
“Gabriel.” You shook your head. “Down boy.”  
“But-”  
“Gabriel.” You said more sternly and commanding.  
“Fine.” He pouted, leaving the beautiful model behind.

Gabriel followed you into the office as you rattled off information about the case. “ERT’s going over the alarm system but this guy’s a pro. Think they’ll find any prints?”  
“Doubt it.” He stopped, eyeing a man in the conference room.  
“What?”  
“Who’s that?” Gabriel nodded to the dark man with a resting bitch face.  
You followed his eye, seeing the man he was talking about sitting across from Bobby, the head of the department. “I don’t know, but Singer doesn’t look happy.”  
“OPR’s here.” Sam informed you as he came down the stairs.  
“That explains it.”  
“OPR?” Gabriel inquired. “You guys really like your acronyms.”  
“Office of Professional Responsibility.” Sam explained. “Police have Internal Affairs. We have OPR. Also Bobby wants you in the office.”  
“Of course he does.” You frowned, knowing it could only be bad news. You gave Gabriel one last look before heading up the stairs and into the conference room. Bobby gave you a tight smile as you opened the door, while the mystery man was busy staring at Gabriel. Something didn’t sit right with you.  
“Agent Y/L/N, this is Gordon Walker.” Bobby introduced the two of you, watching as you shook hands.  
“OPR.” You gave a tight squeeze.  
“News travels fast around here.” Gordon leaned back in his seat.  
“Yes, it does.”  
“As far as anyone know, he’s here for a standard review.” Bobby informed you.  
“Yeah, because that line always works.” You gave a curt nod as you sat down next to Gordon, getting a glimpse at the file Gordon had in his hands. “Nobody’s gonna buy that bridge today. That’s my file.”  
“Yes it is.” Gordon affirmed. “It’s impressive work.” He flipped through a few pages. You might’ve been flattered by his words if he wasn’t OPR. “I wanted to talk about the case that you’re currently investigating.”  
That got your attention. “The jewelry heist? Why?”  
“Well, the only people that knew that diamond was gonna be placed in the vault the night before the show were a few key N.Y.P.D. brass and a handful of FBI agents.” Gordon explained and you knew where this was going.  
“You think it’s an inside job.” You glanced over at your boss. “And you already have a suspect, don’t you?”  
Gordon ignored your harsh gaze, closing your file. “Do you know where Gabriel Novak was last night?”  
You turned to Bobby. “Am I being interrogated here?”  
“You’re not.” Mr. Singer narrowed his eyes at Gordon.  
“Look, this whole thing is a waste of time.” You stood up. “Gabriel didn’t do it. He wears an electronic anklet. It records everywhere he goes. Just pull it up.”  
“Oh, we did that.” Gordon kept his eyes fixed with yours. “And some of the data is missing for last night.”  
“Missing?” You arched an eyebrow.  
“Went dark for six hours.”  
“Impossible.” You fired back, knowing there was no way Gabriel was guilty. “That anklet can’t be tampered with.”  
“No, it can’t.” Gordon agreed with you. “But evidently, the database where the information is stored can be. Someone wiped six hours of tracking data.”  
“Then I suggest that you lurk around the U.S. Marshal’s office because they’re the people who monitor that.” You hissed back.  
Bobby’s voice broke through the tension. “Mr. Novak belongs to the Bureau. That makes him our problem.”   
You wanted to disagree with him, but he was right. You observed Gordon for a moment, immediately deciding you didn’t like the man. You could tell he was probably one of those types that wanted to destroy things, that wanted to make life hell for people. You wanted to say something, but you knew you couldn’t, so you left once Bobby told you could go.  
You headed to your office, finding Gabriel leaning against your desk reading through a file. “Any leads?”  
“This is a short list of suspects capable of pulling this off.” He handed it over to you. “Best ones are already incarcerated.”  
You scanned through the list. “This one is dead.” You pointed out.  
“Okay. List just got shorter.” Gabriel tapped his fingers on the desk, then reached over to another file. “Adrian Tulane.”  
“This is our prime suspect?”  
“It’s a top-notch forgery.” Gabriel sounded impressed. “Not many people are capable of this kind of work.”  
“What about you?” You hated the words spilling out of your mouth, but you couldn’t stop yourself. The conversation with Walker made you a bit on edge.  
He shrugged. “If I were legally allowed within fifty feet of the right equipment, maybe. Tulane’s smart and a showman. Cameras don’t scare him. Also, he has the facilities to pull this off. It’s got his signature all over it.”  
“Alright.” You closed the file. “Let’s talk to him.”

A woman greeted you at the luxury apartment to take you to Adrian. You had to admit the guy had nice style with the exposed brick and metal beams. Gabriel seemed even more happy as he hopped on the elevator before you made sure it was the right place.  
“What is with you?” You yanked him back. “You’re like a kid on a sugar high.”  
“You don’t understand.” Gabriel whispered. “Tulane is a legend.”  
“A legend? Don’t oversell him.”  
“It’s like you meeting Eliot Ness.”   
You shook your head, then stopped as you saw the so-called legend lounging on a long purple velvet couch with another girl sitting on the floor solving a puzzle with no image. Gabriel’s eyes took in the place as you observed the suspect.  
“Doing a puzzle with your girlfriend, huh?”  
“It’s a nice, wholesome family activity.” He calmly replied, not even focusing on you. “How can I help you, Agent…”  
“Y/L/N, FBI. You’re Tulane?”  
“You know I am.” He confidently replied.  
“Yeah, I do. I wanna ask you a few questions. You familiar with-”  
“The diamond necklace that was stolen from Joyau Precieux?” He finished for you.  
“Yeah, that.”  
His eyes finally landed on you. “Whenever something like this happens, I get a visit from someone like you. That’s why I try to be prepared.” He reached over and grabbed an envelope. “You’ll find plane tickets confirming that I arrived in the country this morning.” You pulled out the tickets, inspecting them. “Oh and you’re gonna love the photos from my trip to Madrid last week.” Tulane whistled before laughing. “Anything else?”  
You frowned at the events unfolding. Gabriel didn’t seem to bothered as he smiled at Tulane, than realized you saw him and changed his expression. You tried to think of something, your eyes scanning the puzzle. “What’s that supposed to be? A cloud?”  
“No.”  
“I’ll be in touch.” You told him, turning to leave. “Stop grinning.” You narrowed your eyes at your partner.  
“What? The guy is slick.” Gabriel smiled.  
“Let’s hope he’s guilty too.” You shook your head, stepping towards the door.  
You thought Gabriel was following you, but he went to the couch and was whispering with Tulane. “Just curious.” Gabriel leaned against the back of the couch. “The Uffizi job, did you-” Tulane gave him a look. “Right, right, right.” Gabriel nodded towards you. “I love your alleged work. Big fan.”   
“Gabriel.” You called across the room. “Let’s go.” You let out a sigh of frustration as Gabriel gave your suspect a thumbs up. 

“Well, that was a bust.” You scowled as you walked back to the office.  
“Why disappointed? This is the part you like.” Gabriel offered. “Moving the pieces. Solving the puzzle.”  
“I am moving the pieces.” You sighed. “What were you doing the night of the heist?”  
“You have to ask? I’m wounded.” Gabriel put a hand over his heart before answering more serious. “I went over some case files.”  
“That’s it? Didn’t hang out with anybody? Chuck? Balthazar?” You frowned, not liking that you had to ask these questions.  
“I don’t have an alibi.” Gabriel answered your real question. “Look, I get it. Inside job, diamond forgery, OPR’s in town. I’m sure I’m at the top of the list.” You glanced over at your partner, silently telling him what was going on. “Fuck. I am the list, aren’t I?” You both stopped.  
“Did you do it?” You had to ask. You had to know if it was true or not.  
“Come on, Y/N.”  
“Did you do it?” You pronounced each word clearly.  
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t do it. I’m telling you the truth, Y/N.”  
You stared into those whiskey eyes and for a moment you weren’t sure. You wanted to believe him, but he was a criminal.

The next day you sat in your office going over the information that you had and if Gabriel was connected at all. Sam knocked on your door before entering as you had called him in. “Looking for me?” He brushed back his floppy long hair.  
You had a frown on your face that you swore was going to probably be permanent if you didn’t close this case soon. You were hesitant to hand Sam the file, but then made yourself give it to him. “I need you to look into this.”  
Sam rifled through it, surprised at its content. “It’s forged bonds. Some of Gabriel’s old work.”  
“I need you to look at them under a polarized light for a signature.”   
“Gabriel’s signature?” Sam arched an eyebrow at you.  
“Yeah.” You ran your fingers through your hair. “When I arrested Gabriel the second time he told me he signed the bonds. I wanna know if that’s true or if he’s bragging.”  
“Okay.” Sam turned to leave, then stopped himself. “Is this related to our fake diamond?”  
“Let’s hope it’s not.” You breathed out.  
Meanwhile, Gabriel was at home with Balthazar pacing around drinking his wine. The image of Kali sat in Gabriel’s hands as his whiskey eyes stared at it.  
“I appreciate the irony.” Balthazar smiled, sniffing at his wine. “We’re looking into them and they’re looking into you.”  
“Tell me what you got.” Gabriel wasn’t really in the mood to mess around.  
“Okay.” Balthazar threw some files on the table. “I checked into Y/N’s boss, Bobby. This guy is a legend. Been with the FBI for twenty-five years.” Gabriel opened the file, looking over the information. “They were forced to make him retire, but they found a loophole and brought him back.”  
“Skeletons?”  
“None.” Balthazar opened a different file, handing it to Gabriel. “I checked that Agent Ruiz who handles organized crime. Lots of skeletons there, but I don’t think he’s smart enough.” He pointed at a different file. “I checked Winchester. Did you know he has a brother?” He pointed at a different one. “Checked into Harvelle.”  
“You checked Jo?”  
“You said check everybody, mate. That’s what I did.” Balthazar chided. “Then there’s this guy from OPR, Walker.” He opened the last file.   
“What about him?” Gabriel frowned at the man’s picture.  
“Used to work Violent Crimes for the bureau. Wife was killed during a robbery and he took a year leave.” Balthazar took a gulp of wine. “Then he joined OPR and his files were sealed.”  
“Sealed?” Gabriel shot his friend a look. “Interesting. He showed up awfully fast after this went down.”  
“Does he have a ring?”  
“No. No ring.”   
“Tan line?”  
“No, but that doesn’t mean it’s not him.” Gabriel studied the picture.  
“I hope not.” Balthazar leaned back in his chair. “OPR is like this giant sucking black hole. Accountable only to the DOJ.”  
“Department of Justice?” Gabriel was slightly getting tired of all the acronyms.  
“Well, the DOJ is just a euphemism, of course, for the military industrial complex.” Balthazar snarled.  
“Of course.”  
“Um, by the way, that necklace….” Balthazar smiled at his friend, sending a wink his way.  
Gabriel groaned, already knowing what his friend was asking. “Yeah?”  
“Did you-”  
“I didn’t take it.” Gabriel’s nostrils flared.  
“Because if you need a fence-”  
“Balthie.”  
“Oh, okay. Okay, got it.” He held up his hands. “I get it.”

The next day at work Gabriel, Bobby, and you all sat in the conference room. Gabriel was busy spinning around in his chair. “We can’t figure out how he stole it, but we can try to grab him when he goes to fence it.” Gabriel tried to help.  
“It’s a unique piece. It’s too hot for market right now.” You argued.  
“Brunei is an interesting angle because the market there is less rigid.” Gabriel stopped spinning when Sam came into the room and whispered in your ear. “Yeah, language barrier can be a challenge because one time-”  
“Gabriel Novak.” Gordon burst into the room. “You’re under arrest.”  
“What?” Gabriel blinked, turning to you. You closed your eyes hoping this would all go away.  
“We found that the signature GN micro printed on the fake diamond, it matches the signature on the counterfeit bonds he made. See?” Gordon pointed, letting Bobby get a good view of it. Gabriel leaned over the table, not believing his eyes. “Good work, Agent Y/L/N.” Gordon patted you on the back. “Let’s go.”  
“Stop.” You faced Gordon, then turned to a pissed Gabriel. “He’s my responsibility.” You walked over to your partner, grabbing the handcuffs.   
“Y/N-”  
“Gabriel.” You cut him off, pulling him out of the chair. “You have the right to remain silent.” You started.  
“I didn’t do this.” Gabriel pleaded with you.  
“Remain silent. Please.” You begged, putting the cuffs on his wrists.  
“Alright, let’s go.” Gordon said once Gabriel was cuffed.  
You frowned, grabbing your blazer and putting it over his hands to hide the cuffs. With sadness you lead your partner out of the room with OPR following behind. It seemed that most knew what was going on as they stood up watching Gabriel leave.


	12. Framed or Not Framed?

If there was one thing Gabriel hated about prison, besides the lack of freedom, it was the orange jumpsuits. He just didn’t think orange was his color, which is what he said when you sat down to visit him.   
You rolled your eyes at his comment before shaking your head. “You let me down, Gabriel.”  
“I let you down?” He snapped. “You told Walker to look for my initials.” He narrowed his eyes.  
“And you told me to look at your bonds under a polarized light, remember?” You sassed back. “Well, guess what. I did and yeah, you signed them.”  
Gabriel shook his head, chuckling darkly. “And you really think I’d be stupid enough to do that again? Have we learned nothing?”  
“It seems like you signed it again.” You narrowed your eyes at him. “The thief is associated with law enforcement, your anklet was tampered with, you have no alibi, and your initials are on that diamond.” You pointed out. “What am I supposed to think?”  
“I was set up.” Gabriel snapped.  
“By who?”   
“I’m working on that.” He mumbled.  
You let out a huff at his reply, then shook your head. “You’re not helping things.”  
“Agent Y/L/N?” A guard called over your shoulder.  
“What?” You hissed.  
“Uh, his lawyer is here.” The guard informed you before stepping away.   
Balthazar strided in wearing a fancy suit with a briefcase in hand. You gawked at him before turning back to Gabriel. “He’s a lawyer?”  
“Like it’s hard.” Balthazar snorted. “You can always check my University of Phoenix online degree. Now even though I’d love to sit and catch up, I have a client who needs me.”  
“Of course.” You gave them both a hard look, already knowing they were up to something. Grabbing your blazer, you left the table so they could talk in private.  
Just as you got up, Gabriel spoke out. “I didn’t let you down.” You turned back to face him, seeing the disappointment flood into his eyes. You gave a curt nod before walking away. Gabriel watched you leave, wishing that he could help you solve this case. “Any problems?” He glanced over at his friend and now lawyer.  
“None. This was genius.” Balthazar smirked. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of this earlier.”

You headed back to the office, feeling a sense of dread as Walker would still be there. You were right of course as he came to greet you outside the conference room. “And here she is now.” He gave you a smile. “Agent Y/L/N.”  
“Yeah?” You stopped, not really wanting to deal with the man.  
“Excellent job yesterday.” Gordon patted you on the shoulder. “Appreciate the cooperation.”  
“You know, Gabriel was a great asset.” You told him. “He did good work for us.”  
“Yeah, maybe.” Gordon shrugged. “But don’t forget he’s a criminal. Anyways, good job.” He let you go, heading back into the conference room.  
You turned and wandered over to your office, finding Bobby standing outside your door. “We have a problem.” He said in a hushed voice. “Novak’s lawyer just requested every file the bureau has on him. The judge ordered us to comply.”  
You couldn’t help the smile that grew on your face at the words. You glanced over your shoulder at Walker, who suddenly looked worried. 

“The judge actually raised his voice to the prosecutor.” Balthazar replayed the moment to Gabriel as he went through the briefcase. “Open discovery. Turn over every document the government has on Novak.” Balthazar said giddily. “They’re sending a truck.”  
Gabriel chuckled at his friend’s excitement. “Did you follow Walker?”  
“‘Course, mate. Once the request went through, he made a pit stop at a local dumpster. He shredded these.” Balthazar handed over a bag with all the shredded paper.  
“Perfect.” Gabriel smiled. “Thank you, Balthie. This is perfect. Information on the judge?”  
“Mmhm.” He handed him the file.   
Gabriel scanned through it. “Wait, he’s got a private office not connected to the federal building on Mott Street.” Smiling, back at his friend he got an idea. “Balthie, I need you to liquidate some assets. I need money.”  
“Why?”  
“I want you to buy a bakery.”  
“Excuse me?” Balthazar blinked.  
“You heard me.” Gabriel smirked, closing the file.

Back in the office, you rounded up Sam and Jo. “All of Tulane’s information checks out.” Jo told you as she leaned over her computer. “He’s eerily clean.”  
“Of course he is.” You muttered. “What’s Gabriel’s lawyer been up to?”  
“Not much.” Sam leaned against the desk. “Legally, we can’t follow him. Attorney-client privileges.”  
“Yeah, yeah.” You frowned. “So we have no idea what he’s doing?”  
“Well.” Jo grabbed a file and handed it to you. “We do know he made a large real estate purchase in Gabriel’s name.”  
You read it over, not believing what you saw. “What? He bought a bakery?”  
“That’s what it looks like.” Sam nodded.  
“Why buy a bakery?”   
“We don’t even know where the damn thing is located.” Sam added. “All we have is a lease with a redacted address.”  
“Attorney-client privileges.” You repeated, silently hating that law.  
“Yeah, covers a lot of sins, that one.” Jo muttered.  
“A bakery?” You blinked, glancing up at the two of them who just shrugged.  
As you were busy trying to figure out the bakery, Gabriel was busy decoding the shredded pieces of paper in his cell. Opening the bag he rifled through, matching paper by color and words.   
It took him hours as he match them piece by piece and glued them on a notebook pad. Over time the words turned to sentences and he could make out what the files were about. They were internal affair reports with dialogue of phone calls between Gabriel and you. Walker was spying on the two of you.

The next day Balthazar helped Gabriel with his suit before going to meet the judge. “Bakery?” Gabriel asked, straightening his tie.  
“Done.”  
“Construction?”   
“Finished.”  
“How’s the air conditioning in the judge’s office?” Gabriel smoothed out his shirt.  
“Hmm...broke down this morning.”   
“Alright.” Gabriel combed back his hair. “Let’s go to court.”  
While the trickster and his lawyer prepped, you arrived in front of the courthouse. You saw your roommate, Anna, waiting for you. “Hey.” You smiled over at her.  
“Oh, hey. You got my message.” She brought you in for a hug.  
“I did, thank you.” You breathed out.  
“I wanted you to have a familiar face here. I know this thing with Gabriel has been hard for you.” She gave you a reassuring smile.  
“Well, thanks. Shall we?” You gestured to the doors.  
“Sure.” She put her arm around your shoulders as you walked. “So, are you sure Gabe did this?”  
“Yeah, I am.” You nodded. “Of course, he says he was framed.”  
“Maybe he was.” Anna suggested. She was always soft on him, but he was a criminal.  
“I wish it was true.” You sighed, opening the door just as Jo called your name. “What’s up?” You asked once she was closer.  
“The arraignment has been moved.”  
“Why?”   
“Gabriel’s said he’s gonna confess.” Jo explained.  
“So I guess you were right.” Anna pouted, she hoped Gabriel would be freed.  
“Gabriel never confesses.” You noted.  
“He said important people were gonna be named and he won’t do it in an open court.” Jo added. “So they moved the proceedings.”  
“Where?”  
“Judge’s chambers around the corner.” Jo pointed.  
“Anna.” You sighed. “I’ll call you later, okay?”  
“Tell me what happens.” She gave you a side hug, then left.   
“Get ahold of Singer.” You told Jo as you started walking to the judge’s chambers.

The heat was already getting to the judge as he patted his neck with a handkerchief. “Bailiff, would you open the window?” The graying man complained. “Oh, the heat is stifling in here.” Gabriel bit back a smile as he sat across from him. “Unfortunately, the air conditioning is not working today.” Gabriel nodded his understanding. “Thank you.” The judge glanced at the bailiff. “Please wait outside.” Once the bailiff left, the judge turned to Gabriel. “Per your request, Mr. Novak, the chambers have been cleared.”  
“Thank you, Your Honor.”  
“In accordance with that agreement, you are now prepared to give a full confession?” The judge reminded him.  
“I am, Your Honor.” Gabriel smiled, pausing for a moment. “I’ll admit I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I’m not proud of….no...no. That’s not true. I’m proud of most of them. But what I’m about to do today, this is gonna be good.”  
As he spoke, you were frantically running to the building as you knew Gabriel was about to do something. You passed a man coming out of the building who was wearing a suit. “Judge Hickman’s office?”  
“Fourth floor.” The man told you as he picked up his phone.  
“Thank you.” You were about to push into the entrance, but something caught your eye. “Bakery.” You gawked at the cute bakery just next door. “That son of a bitch bought that bakery.” You had to give him points for his cleverness.   
Up in the judge’s chamber, Gabriel continued with his ‘confession’. “I confess that I didn’t steal the diamond necklace from Le Joyau Precieux.”  
The judge narrowed his eyes. “I cleared these chambers because you claimed to have sensitive information vital to this case. If you didn’t steal the diamond, then who did?”  
“I’ll let you know.” Gabriel winked before charging to the open window. Quickly, he made his way on the ledge as the judge yelled for the bailiff.  
From below, you saw Gabriel come out onto the ledge, scooting his way down towards the bakery. Then with a hesitant step, Gabriel dropped off the ledge to land in the awning over the bakery. It caught him and he easily made his way down to the sidewalk. You watched in awe and shock as his movements were fluid.  
His whiskey eyes caught yours as he stood free on the sidewalk. He shrugged at you like this was the only way. You smirked, not even bothering to go after him because you knew you’d find him. You always did.  
Bolting, he dodge through traffic before jumping into a van that you figured Balthazar was driving. Security flooded the street, speaking on walkies as they relayed information in hopes of catching him.   
“He’s not in the van.” You murmured to yourself, knowing he had some other plan in place. The van was too easy to spot.  
Several minutes later your team showed up and you pulled Sam aside. “Get to the city planner’s office. Find out where these tunnels lead.” You told him, eyeing the manhole cover. Sam nodded, leaving as Walker and Singer showed up.  
“Y/L/N.” Walker called out.   
“Novak escaped?” Singer narrowed his eyes.  
“Yeah. He did a four-story swan dive onto that awning of the bakery.” You gestured to the crime scene before staring at the two men. “Who approved moving the arraignment?”  
“The Marshals guaranteed the security of the room.” Walker defended.   
“Never assume anything with Gabriel.” You scolded him. “I’ve been working my ass off keeping this man straight and narrow. He’s been helping us win cases until you came.”  
“Oh, don’t put this on me-” Gordon shot back.  
“I’m-” You started.  
“Hey, hey!” Bobby cut you both off. “Shut your flappers and let’s focus on the problem here. What do we know?”  
You opened your mouth as Jo approached you. “Stop the van?”  
“Yeah, the only person in the van was the driver. He claims he was hired through an anonymous internet posting. Five hundred bucks to pick up the van and park it at this spot.”  
You gave a light chuckle. “Did the van have a floor panel that was removable?”  
“How’d you know?”  
“Gabriel wasn’t in there for more than a few seconds. He’s gone underground.” You explained.  
“Can we track his anklet?” Jo suggested.  
You glanced at Gordon. “They removed it when we arrested him.”  
“Okay.” Bobby could feel the tension rising. “Y/L/N, find him again.”  
“Um.” Gordon stepped in. “I’m not comfortable with Agent Y/L/N running this operation-”  
“I don’t give a damn.” Bobby retorted. “Y/N knows Gabriel better than anyone. Now get to work.” He left it at that.  
Gordon turned slowly, crossing his arms. “Alright, Y/L/N. What’s your plan?”  
“Set up roadblocks. Put up wanted posters.” You said with a straight face.

“To accommodate the location, we’ll have to keep the list at two-hundred.” Anna explained to the two ladies following her down the street. Her party planner business kept her busy for sure. “Yvonne, will you follow up on the caterer?” She asked her partner. “It should be beautiful, though. To have ten long tables of twenty.” Anna explained to the client as Yvonne reached for her phone.  
“This is Yvonne.” Her partner answered her ringing phone, surprised at the call. “Anna, it’s for you.” She handed her phone over.  
“On your personal phone?” Anna gave a confused look.  
“Yeah.”  
“Milton Premiere Events. This is Anna.” She spoke into the phone, wondering who it could be.  
“Sorry to bother you at work.” Gabriel’s voice came from the other end.  
“Gabriel?” Anna glanced at the two ladies, apologizing as she stepped away from them. Once she was alone she focused back on the call. “How did you get this number? Oh, stupid question.” Anna rolled her eyes. “You know half the law enforcement in North America is looking for you, including my roommate.”  
“I know and she’ll find me soon enough. I need your help.” He pleaded. 

You arrived home after coordinating with local police to help find Gabriel. It was quiet that you didn’t even notice Anna sneak in until she greeted you. You were slightly startled, but recovered as you smiled back.   
“You okay?” Anna leaned against the dining table.  
“Ah. Still haven’t found Gabe.” You told her. “We got a detail outside.”  
“Yeah, I saw.”  
“As if he’d be careless enough to come here.” You snorted. Anna gave a small nod, glancing around the room as she didn’t want to meet your eyes. You knew something was off by her behavior. “Where do you think he went?” You narrowed your eyes, observing the space. Anna shrugged, biting her lip. “Is he in the kitchen?”  
She hemmed and hawed a moment before nodding. “Yep.”  
You shook your head at her. “Gabriel.” You called for him, watching the well dressed man enter the room with his hands up.  
“Y/N.” He greeted. You gestured for him to come closer. He moved a bit, but remained behind solid things like the wall to make sure the detail couldn’t see him. “All the places you could run and you got to my roommate?” You hissed.  
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Gabriel whispered back.  
“You helped him sneak in?” You turned to Anna.  
“I wouldn’t have to sneak him in if there weren’t people sitting at our house.” She defended, crossing her arms.   
“You lied to the FBI.” You stepped closer, keeping your voice down.  
“Y/N, I didn’t lie to the FBI. There was just a lot of milk and cookies...and I didn’t sign up for this. You’re FBI, not me.”  
“Great.” You muttered. “You turned my roommate into an accomplice.”  
“Give me one minute to explain.” Gabriel pleaded.  
“Come on. One minute.” Anna gave you her puppy dog eyes, then smiled at Gabriel as she left.  
You turned to your partner. “One minute. You explain what you were thinking when you did a free fall from the judge’s chambers while I decide if I drag you back in chains.” You whispered as you grabbed a book to look like you were reading.  
“Okay, but does that minute start now or-”  
“Go.” You interrupted.  
“Okay. I told you I was set up by someone very close to you.” Gabriel started. “I couldn’t tell you at first because I thought it was somebody in the FBI. Now I’m positive it’s Walker.”  
“Walker? That’s not-”  
“Hey.” Gabriel hushed you. “I’ve got fifty-two seconds left. I had a little free time on my hands the past few days so I’ve been putting these together.” Gabriel pulled out his wrinkled sheets of paper. “They’re documents Walker shredded after I requested access to my files.”  
You read them, finding that they were conversations that you had had with Gabriel days before. “I made that call from my home.”   
“Yep.”  
“My god.” You were stunned. “They tapped my phone.”  
“No, they didn’t tap it. That would require a court order.” Gabriel eyed your phone. “Look at your phone. It’s a bug. Standard bureau issue.” You moved to the table where your phone was already opened. You could clearly see the bug that he was talking about. “Activates when you pick it up.”  
“They’ve been inside my house.” You glanced around worried about what else they did, but also pissed off that they did this to begin with. You paced around the room, ready to throw something. “They couldn’t have had authorization.” You breathed out. “Not within the window of the crime and his suspicion.”  
“Exactly. Walker is dirty.” Gabriel muttered. “Y/N, I have access to every file the FBI has on me. You had Sam process a request to look at my initials on the bond forgery. After you checked to see if I was telling the truth, one other person checked it too.”  
“Walker.” You were starting to add things up.  
Gabriel nodded. “Then my initials just happened to show up on the diamond. He’s using you to get to me.” He paused. “My minute's up.”  
You’re eyes widened at the information. “I need to sit down.” You said, grabbing the wrinkled papers that Gabriel had. You looked through it all, shifting through the information.  
“Said I’d give a full confession so here it is.” Gabriel told you a few minutes later as he sat down. “I’ve been trying to find Kali.”  
You smiled over at him. “Am I supposed to look surprised?”  
“Maybe. Could help with an acting career.” Gabriel joked, then turned serious. “I talked to her, Y/N.” That got your attention. He pulled two other pieces of paper from his pocket and handed you one.   
“I’m familiar with this photo.” You told him, seeing Kali in the black and white shot.  
“But you haven’t seen it all.” Gabriel informed you, handing over the other photo. “She’s being held by someone. She’s too scared to say who.” While he spoke you put the two images together and saw the full picture. “But I found out from a friend that the man who has her is FBI.”  
“You think it’s Walker?” You observed him.  
“I do now.”  
“What’s he want from you?”  
“Not sure. It could be anything.”  
“Like what?” You pressed.   
“No. No, you’d have to arrest me.”  
“I should be arresting you.”  
“But you’re not.” He argued.  
“So, give him what he wants.”  
“If I do, there’s no guarantee I’ll ever see Kali again.” You rolled your eyes at the mention of her name, setting the papers down on the table as Gabriel spoke. “We need to look into Walker.”   
“You’re asking me to investigate OPR. That’s suicide.”   
“He’s already investigating you.”  
You bit your lip, thinking. “We’d have to go behind the bureau’s back.”  
“Not if you clear me first.” Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s what you do for a living, right?” You smiled at his words. “Alright.” He pushed himself up, standing against the wall. “I’ll be in touch. Oh!” He pulled a phone out of his jacket. “This is untraceable, but if you need to get in touch with me-”  
“Stop talking.” You took the phone, already hating the spot he was putting you in. “I don’t wanna know where you’re going.”  
“Plausible deniability?”  
“No, I just don’t care.” You teased. “Yes, of course deniability.”   
“Y/N.” Gabriel bowed his head, which you took as a ‘thank you’ before he left out the back.


	13. Think Like A Thief

The next day after finding Gabriel hiding in your home, you headed to work. You saw Sam sitting at his desk on the phone. As you approached him, he ended it with a loud sigh, closing the file next to him.   
“What’s the latest?” You peered over his desk.  
“We’ve got conflicting intel.” Sam crossed his arms, leaning back in chair. “Like Gabriel has been sighted in Jersey and then another about him being in Geneva. The man is apparently everywhere.”  
“He’s covering all his bases.” You kept your face neutral, not wanting to show how glad you were he wasn’t caught.  
“He stole them off the field.” Sam commented as he stuck his nose into another file.  
Suddenly, a hand came down on your shoulder, turning you found Gordon next to you. “Got a minute?” He politely asked, even though his demeanor was still intimidating.  
“Yeah.”   
“I just…” Gordon couldn’t keep his eyes leveled with yours. “...I wanted to apologize about the other day, you know?” You had a slight inclination that Bobby had something to do with him apologizing to you, but you nodded, letting him speak. “We want what’s best for the bureau, right?”  
“Of course.” You turned back to Sam, who was ducking his head as he clearly didn’t want to be involved.   
“Hey.” Gordon continued, though you thought he was done. “Can I ask you a question? Just hypothetically.” You internally groaned as you gave him your attention. “If you had to guess right now: Where’s Novak?”  
You put some thought into it, not wanting Gordon to know that you had already met with him in your home. “Probably trying to leave the country, if he hasn’t already.”   
Gordon narrowed his eyes. “Oh, you don’t think he’d stay in Manhattan?”  
“Would there be a reason to?” You arched an eyebrow, observing him curiously.  
“I don’t know.” Gordon shrugged. “I just wanna make sure we’re using our resources as wisely as possible.” His dark eyes gave you a challenging stare.  
You didn’t bat an eye. “Like I said, roadblocks and wanted posters.”  
“That’s how we’re gonna catch him, huh?” Gordon didn’t back down.  
“It’s a good start.” You curtly nodded. “Now if you don’t mind, I gotta work.”  
“Of course.” Gordon nodded, letting you turn back to Sam. Though, he stayed where he stood until you shot him a look and then he slowly made his way back to his desk.  
“Do me a favor.” You whispered to Sam, leaning over.  
“Yeah, sure. What is it?” Sam replied without hesitation.  
“Keep an eye on this Walker guy and his goons.”   
“I’m allowed to do that?”   
“I’m authorizing you to.” You peered over your shoulder at Walker. “Something isn’t right.” You told him before heading to the elevator. Sam watched you go, then watched as one of Walker’s men kept staring at you before marching to the elevators.  
“Hey.” Sam cut the goon off. “How about you do me a favor?”   
“What’s that?” The goon was still watching you, but then turned to Sam. You watched through the glass doors as Sam distracted the man and you slipped onto a different elevator.   
“Get the latest photo of Novak to Massachusetts P.D.” Sam grabbed a file off his desk and handed it to him.  
“Can’t handle it yourself?” The man shot back, ignoring the file.  
“Hey, man. I’m just trying to work together.”   
“Right.” The goon dismissed him, going over to the elevators.  
Sam shook his head as he watched the guy press the button for the elevator that he thought you were on. The guy seemed frantic to catch up to you, eyeing the floors that it had stopped on.   
By the time the goon was down, you already had walked a few blocks into the crowd. Pulling out the burner phone, you called Gabriel.  
“Meet me at our jewelry store in twenty minutes.” You told him, weaving through people.  
“I didn’t think I was supposed to return to the scene of a crime.” Gabriel teased.   
“Let’s revisit it and figure out how you allegedly pulled this all off.”   
Gabriel smirked, promising to meet you there before ending the call.

You recognized Gabriel the moment you turned the corner to the jewelry store. He was leaning on a tree with newspaper in hands in front of the doors with dark sunglasses and his hat on. He had switched from his fancy threads to an army green jacket and dark washed jeans, but he still managed to look sharp.  
“Nice disguise, Bucko.” You chuckled.   
“You know...I never really like this picture.” Gabriel folded the newspaper, showing you his mugshot that was splashed across the page.  
“Oh, it’s pretty good for a mugshot.” You reassured him.  
Gabriel glanced at it again. “At least it’s better than my driver’s license photo.”  
“Which one?” You arched an eyebrow. “You have several.” Gabriel shot you a look. “Alright, one crime at a time. I wanna check out the vault.” You eyed the store.  
“Yeah, well I can’t exactly walk in.”   
“I’ll tell them you’re in my custody and that you’re gonna show me how you got in.” You explained.  
“Stealthy.” Gabriel smiled. “Y/N, I’m starting to like you again.”  
“Yeah, we’re hanging out too much.” You muttered, leading the way.   
Just as you thought, getting in was easy as you passed through the back to the vault. Crime scene tape blocked your path, but you both just ducked under it to get in the vault. You both noted the cameras.   
“We assumed the thief went through the blind spots of the surveillance camera, but Forensics says that the alarm was never tampered with.” You stated, walking through the room.  
“Well, that’s not possible unless-” Gabriel started, glancing at the individual safes for each necklace.  
You finished, already figuring it out. “He never left the vault.”  
You both searched for the hidden door or hidden opening that the thief could’ve possibly gone through. Everything seemed to be in place, but Gabriel managed to find it. “This wasn’t flickering on the security tape.” He observed the panel of light that was big enough to have an opening behind that would fit a man.  
“No it wasn’t.” You joined him, feeling the edge of the panel. You grabbed your keys from your pocket and opened it up. “Nothing.” You frowned, just seeing the lights.  
“Could be a misdirect.” Gabriel commented, searching the room. “Here.” He gestured for the keys as he neared the other light. You tossed them over, then went over to help remove the panel. The wall behind the panel had a clear mark of where someone cut into it. “How’d the FBI miss this?” Gabriel removed the wall that was cut, finding brick behind it.   
“We didn’t.” You crouched down, inspecting it. “Walker had OPR take over the investigation.” You informed Gabriel before kicking the brick away. After the bricks tumbled together, they opened up a passageway between the walls that was large enough to stand up in. “Look at that…” You chuckled. “This is an old Prohibition tunnel.”  
“Yeah, well, someone found a new use for it.”   
“Looks like.” You acknowledged, finding a staircase at the end of the passageway. You climbed the steps two at a time, curious to find where they lead. You found the opening, pushing the metal top up and you stepped right out. “I’ll call my team. We’ll start canvassing for witnesses.” You started dialing on your phone. Gabriel put his hand on your arm, getting your attention.  
“We may not have to.” Gabriel smiled, pointing to the camera that pointed right at the opening.   
“Oh. Who said Big Brother’s a bad thing?” You smiled along with your partner as you put your phone to your ear. “Sam. I’m gonna need you to pull a video off a surveillance camera.”

Back at your home you booted up your computer, excited to see the footage. Gabriel peeked out the front windows as you worked. “Where’s OPR?” He was glad that they were gone, but was curious at their sudden disappearance.   
“I had Sam reassign them to Penn Station.” You told him, making his worry disappear.  
“Sam? How’d he do that?” Gabriel snuck a glance to see if you found anything on the footage.   
“He does a pretty good Walker impression.” You smiled, then slowed down the tape. “Alright, we’re coming up to the place where our masked man enters the vault.” You felt Gabriel leaning over your shoulder, wanting to get a good view. You could almost feel his breath on your neck.  
“Add a few minutes for him to double back, cover his tracks.” His warm breath tickled you as the video sped up a little. “Wait, wait. Hold it right there.” Gabriel pointed as a man emerged from the old Prohibition passageway onto the street. “Is that Tulane?” He moved around, taking a seat next to you. “Play it at half speed.”  
You did as he said, waiting for the man’s face to show. “That’s gotta be Tulane.” You murmured. “Come on. Come on. Turn around.”  
“Got ya.” Gabriel smirked as Tulane turned towards the camera as a pretty girl strutted by. Couldn’t really blame him for admiring a pretty face.   
“I guess he never did go to Madrid.”   
“I knew his plane tickets were fakes.” Gabriel muttered.  
You glanced over at your partner. “Then why didn’t you say anything? Could’ve avoided this whole mess.” You waited, knowing he had nothing. “That’s what I thought.” You smirked, then stared back at the screen. “Guy steals the largest diamond in North America and we get him because he can’t resist a pretty face. Reminds me of someone I know.” Gabriel didn’t comment, just ran his fingers through his hair as he ducked away.

“I see you got my page.” Sam greeted Walker and his goons as they marched into the office with matching scowls.   
Walker walked right up to him, throwing his finger in the air as he stared Sam down. “You had no business helping Y/L/N disappear.”  
Sam gave a confused look. “Why would Agent Y/L/N disappear? You think she was being followed?”  
“You wanna bring on a full OPR investigation?” Walked threatened.  
“No, sir.” Sam gritted his teeth.  
“I can internal review every perp you slapped a cuff on.”  
“Well, you can start with the one in the conference room.” Sam nodded towards the room. “That’s Adrian Tulane. Agent Y/L/N arrested him this morning in connection with our jewelry heist. I guess that clears Gabriel.” Gordon’s scowl turned even more sour at the news, heading to the conference room with his goons behind him.  
Meanwhile, you sat comfy knowing you had the real criminal in the conference room. “How’d you know which vault the diamond would be in?” You questioned Tulane, but he remained quiet. “Silence won’t help you, but maybe I can. Tell me everything and I can talk to the prosecutor about immunity.”  
“Why would you give me immunity?” Tulane scoffed.  
“Believe it or not, I don’t think you’re the brains behind this operation.”  
“Playing on my vanity.” Tulane smirked. “Please, you have some video that proves nothing.”  
You arched an eyebrow at that, grabbing a bag that was on the ground near your feet. “Search warrant helped us find this in a townhouse of one of your puzzle girls.” You placed the bag on the table and pulled out the diamond necklace. “I think that proves something.”  
Tulane’s nose flared at the sight of it. “Well, if you’re asking for my expertise I can tell you that a crime like this often has a benefactor. The entire operation, from delivery route to exit strategy, is handed to someone.”  
“Tell me something I don’t know.”  
“Men with privileged information often hire people with certain skills to do what they can’t.” He leaned back in his chair. “Of course, all of this is just hypothetical.”  
You shook your head. “This conversation is not hypothetical. Immunity for a name.”  
Tulane laughed as Walker entered the room. “Oh, is he the prosecutor?”  
You ignored Walker, narrowing your eyes at Tulane. “Immunity for a name.”  
“I would if I could.” Tulane admitted, glancing at Walker. “The more I learn, the more I think this whole case is a setup.”  
“A lot of that seems to be going around.” You agreed.

After getting things sorted out, OPR headed out as they weren’t needed anymore. You watched with satisfaction as they went to the elevators and exited the office. Just as Gordon passed you to leave, you stopped him by stepping in front of him.  
You lifted your hand, showing the bug that was once in your phone. “I found this stuck on my home phone. Thought you might have dropped it.” You told him, placing it in his suit pocket.  
He gave a little smile at your actions. “I’m not done with this investigation, Y/N.”  
“Neither am I.” You told him, letting him go. Soon the elevator shut and you let out a breath you didn’t realize your were holding it.   
Later that night, you brought the your team into the conference room with Gabriel by your side. “I thought that a small celebration would be appropriate.” You smiled, popping open some champagne.  
“You really shouldn’t drink champagne out of paper.” Gabriel shook his head as you poured it into paper cups. Jo and Sam didn’t seem to mind as they picked their cups up.   
“You will and you’ll like it.” You handed him a cup. “It’s two-fold really.”  
“Two-fold?” Gabriel took it, swirling the alcohol around.  
“Yeah, you’re off the hook.” Jo took a sip.  
“Mhm.” You drank some of your own. “And our jobs are a lot easier when you run with us, not from us.”  
“Hear, hear.” Sam cheered.  
“I’ll drink to that.” Gabriel raised his cup. You all tapped them together before downing your drinks. “What about OPR?” Gabriel had to know as he swallowed.  
“They’re gone for now.” You glanced down at your drink.   
“Celebrate the victories, however long they last.”  
“I’ll drink to that.” You raised your cup again.  
Suddenly one of your office assistants knocked on the conference door. “Mr. Novak?” She opened the door a little. “There’s a call for you on line two.”  
“Oh, Mr. Novak.” You teased. “Call on line two.”  
“Probably my lawyer.” Gabriel gave you a look.  
“You should put him on retainer.”  
“I’ll expense it. Can I use your phone?”  
“Go ahead.” You nodded.   
Gabriel set his cup down before leaving to your office next door. He picked up the phone, glancing out at the city. “Balthie, I told you, just sign the papers for me.”  
“Gabriel?” Kali’s voice was heard on the end of the line instead of his friend. “It’s me.”  
“Kali.” He breathed out, her voice was heaven to him.  
“He’s close to you, Gabriel.”   
“Look, I know who he is. He’s with the FBI.”  
“Yes.” Kali confirmed. “Just give him what he wants.”  
“What does he want?” Gabriel watched the door, making sure no one was near.   
“I-”  
“Tell me, Kali.”  
There was a pause before she responded in a hushed voice. “You can’t trust anyone.”  
“Kali?” The line went dead after those words.   
After that, Gabriel left without a word to you. He made his way back to his apartment, finding Balthazar already there. “Oh hey.” His friend greeted without turning. “I’m just going through these FBI files. There is a terrifying amount of information here.” He grabbed a couple files. “Idiots for putting it all in here.” He shook his head, then looked over at Gabriel. “What’s wrong?”  
“Kali called me.”  
“And?” Balthazar leaned forward.  
“And I can’t help her.” Gabriel snapped. “She won’t tell me where she is.”  
“I have a theory.” Balthazar snatched a piece of paper and handed it over. “Walker’s ID number and over here, a local address. Note the dates.”   
“This is from before the diamond heist.”  
“Yeah. It’s a hotel room.” Balthazar pointed out. “It’s not linked to any operation I can find. Now, if I was inclined to believe in such things, I’d say it’s worth a look. Room five-two-five.”  
The rage that was stirring in Gabriel seemed to calm at the information. “Thanks, Balthie.” He gave him a pat on the back before bolting out to find Kali.

It didn’t take long before Gabriel was at the hotel room, banging on the door. “Walker! I know you’re in there. Open up. Kali!” The door swung open, revealing an operation as agents were clustered around.  
“What are you doing here, Novak?” Walker turned the corner.  
“What’s going on?” Gabriel snapped, going further in the room.  
“Who told you about this, huh? How do you know about Mentor?”   
“Mentor?” Gabriel narrowed his eyes.   
“What do you think is going on here, huh?” Gordon walked up to him. “You’re busting my operation here.”  
“No.” Gabriel shook his head. “No. Where is Kali? Kali?” He called out.  
“Kali?” Gordon frowned. “Kali, your girlfriend, Kali? There’s no Kali here, Novak.” To prove his point, Gordon shouted out her name as well, shaking his head at Gabriel. “You’re losing it.”  
Gabriel scowled. “Even so. You were watching me before the jewelry heist.”  
“I’m not in New York looking at you, Gabriel.”  
“That’s a lie.” He snarled. “You recorded my phone calls.”  
Gordon scoffed. “No, I didn’t bug your phone, Gabriel.” He gave him a look and then realized that he was looking into you. 

You sat in a nice chair in a dark room. You waited until the door opened to turn the lights on, finding a female figure at the hotel room’s entrance. She didn’t look surprised to see you there. “Hello, Kali.”   
“Hello, Y/N.” She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.  
You crossed your arms, leaning back in the chair. “We need to talk about Gabriel.”


	14. What She Wants

“If only there were some way to compare this to your life.” Balthazar moved one of his knights on the chessboard, shooting Gabriel a look.   
Gabriel rolled his eyes at his friend. “I get it, Balthie. I’m a pawn. How original.” He said as he moved one of his own pieces.  
“Ah, mate. You’re just upset because it’s accurate.” Balthazar quipped. “See, Kali has reign over the entire board, while your movements are more...restricted. I suppose in a more sexier context it’d be...Kali is your mistress and your well...the tied up sub.”   
“I got the idea with your first comparison.” Gabriel crossed his arms. “The thing is...Walker has to be lying about Y/N. Why would she have Kali? It doesn’t make sense.”  
“Gabe, I hate to say it...especially since she is a lovely woman, but everyone has price. And well...Y/N’s been in control of everything.” Balthazar argued. “I really do hate to say it….but she’s smart and capable.”  
“I work with her, though. There’s no way, Walker has to be lying.”  
“Then prove it, my friend.”  
“Well, we are meeting at her house tonight.” Gabriel realized, thinking about the case they were currently working on. “Got a major case...some stock exchanging doing illegal things.”  
“How surprising.” Balthazar dryly remarked. “Although that does give you access to her house. You find the ring and you find the king.” Balthazar moved another piece, smirking. “Checkmate.”

“Coffee?” Anna handed a mug to Sam, who was called over as well as Gabriel.   
“Thanks, roomie.” You watched her head back into the kitchen, probably to work on some dinner as the three of you went over the files. “Alright, let’s see what we got.” You listened to some audio that Gabriel had, liking what you had thus far.  
“Jo’s pulling up intel on him.” Sam sipped his coffee. “Check your email.”  
“Got it.” You pulled the email up, reading it over quickly. “Looks like our guy has been busy.”  
“Yeah.” Sam nodded.  
Gabriel watched with disinterest as you stared at your computer and Sam listened on his phone. After a couple of minutes, he stood up. “I’m gonna go rummage through your drawers and steal all your underwear.” You glared over at him. “Kidding, I’ll just take the satin and lacy ones.”  
“Gabriel.” You narrowed your eyes.  
“Also kidding. I gotta pee.”  
You shook your head at him before turning back to the files. “Upstairs, first door on the left. And make sure you put the seat down when you’re done.”  
“Aye aye.” He gave a smile, moving around the table to the stairs. After he made sure that no one was around, Gabriel scanned around, looking for any clues about the ring. On the stairs were several photos of Anna and you with some of you together and some separate. Taking his time he peered at each one as he went further up until he got to one where the two of you were hugging and a gold ring like in the photo with Kali was on your finger. “I’ll be damned.” Gabriel murmured to himself.   
“Everything alright?” Anna’s voice came from behind, surprising him.  
“Yep.” Gabriel gave her a charming smile. “Heh.” He pointed up the stairs.  
“First door on the left.” Anna reminded him. “Oh, and I cooked plenty if you want to stay for dinner.”  
“Sorry.” Gabriel thought about the picture just a little ways away from him. “I’ve got plans.”  
“Oh, well maybe next time, then?”  
“Maybe.” Gabriel nodded before climbing the stairs.

A few hours later, Gabriel was back in his apartment, staring at the chessboard as Balthazar drank wine across from him. “I don’t understand, isn’t that a good thing that you found the ring? And here I thought it would take forever to find it. So? I’m guessing Y/N has it then? Does that mean Y/N has Kali then? Wow..you think you really know someone.”  
“Shut up.” Gabriel snapped, forcefully pushing the chessboard and all the pieces off the table.  
Balthazar set his wine down quickly, turning to his friend. “I am sorry, mate. I wouldn’t have believed it at first either….I imagine this is hard for you.”  
“I don’t understand why.” Gabriel said exasperated. “She’s….Y/N…”  
“I know, but FBI….this is what they do.” Balthazar glanced over at his wine. “We’re gonna need something stronger than this. Also, we gotta figure out what you’re going to do.”  
“I was thinking of going to Anna...she’s her roommate. If Y/N is doing anything weird I feel like she would know.”  
“So, you just going to walk in and talk to her? You think her friend will give her up?”  
“It’s worth a try.” 

A couple days later, Gabriel wasn’t needed at work as you were off sitting in the surveillance van to keep tabs on the suspect. Standing outside your house was making him nervous, but he managed a knock.   
Anna appeared with a smile, throwing the door wide open at the sight of the dashing man wearing a navy blue suit. “Hey, Gabe. Y/N’s not here.”  
“I know. I came to talk to you.” Gabriel told her, earning a confused stare. “May I come in?”  
“Of course.” Anna moved aside, closing the door behind him. “What can I help you with? Is it about the case or something?”  
“It’s about Y/N.” Gabriel sat down on the couch. “There’s no easy way to say this...but I know she has a ring...a ring that looks exactly like this one.” He pulled out the black and white image of Kali with the hand gripping her shoulder.   
“What?!” Anna took the image, peering at it. “Gabriel this is crazy. Y/N doesn’t have Kali.”  
“You sure about it?”  
She nodded. “Yes, I am.”  
“How often is she gone?” Gabriel pressed. “How many late nights when you don’t know where she is?”  
Anna crumpled the image up. “Stop it. Y/N is the best thing to happen to you, don’t doubt her.”  
“Yeah, well she has the ring.” Gabriel gestured to the crumpled up picture.   
“So do lots of other FBI agents.” Anna explained, resting a hand on over his. “Gabriel, it’s a ten year FBI pin….I know because I was there when she got her’s. It’s a pin, but most agents get it made into a ring. All this proves is that someone in the FBI has Kali.”  
“I’ve never seen her wear it.”   
Anna got up, heading for the table near the front door. “It’s a fraternity thing. Y/N’s just not into that sort of thing. Plus, she says it gets in the way.” Anna shifted through the table drawers. “Here it is.” She walked back over, handing the gold ring to Gabriel. “If you ever get invited to the bureau commendation dinner you’ll see practically everyone wearing one.”  
Gabriel studied it, realizing how wrong he was. Anna was right, all the ring proved was it was someone in the FBI. “I’m sorry.”  
“You should apologize to Y/N.” Anna smiled softly at him. “I promise though on her behalf that she is working to figure this all out. Just please don’t lose faith in her...she hasn’t lost faith in you.”  
“You’re right.” Gabriel handed the ring back. “Thank you, Anna.”  
“I’m here anytime, Gabe.” Anna squeezed his hand before standing up. “So, how about we get to making some lunch. Y/N should be home in a couple of hours and I believe she has something to tell you.”  
“I could always just-” Gabriel stopped as he got a look from your roommate. “Yeah, so what are we making?”  
“Good boy.” Anna smiled, leading him into the kitchen. “Grab an apron and then you can start chopping some veggies.”  
Gabriel nodded, afraid of what she’d do if he objected and started working. They moved together around the kitchen, getting things done rather quickly. Anna complimented him several times, impressed that he knew certain vegetables and how to properly cut them.   
“She should be home any minute.” Anna poked him, grabbing the salad and putting it on the table. “Wanna grab the chicken for me?” Gabriel nodded, following her to the dining table with chicken in hand and just as he set it down he heard the door click open. “Lunch is served.” Anna’s voice rang out. “Also, Gabe’s here.”  
“Gabriel?” You walked around the corner, finding your partner sitting across from your roommate. “Why are you here?”  
“He thought you had Kali...because you have a ring just like this one.” Anna answered, showing you the image that he had brought with. “I corrected him and explained that agents get it after ten years of service.”   
“I see.” You glanced over at your partner.  
“I also told him that you have something to say as well.” Anna’s words surprised you as you stared at her. “Tell him. He deserves to know.”  
You paused, then nodded as you sat down. “I wanted to wait till after the case, but since I’m being pressured…” Anna rolled her eyes, letting out a huff. “...I’ll tell you, but you gotta listen. Okay? Listen to all that I say and then you can ask questions.”  
“That doesn’t sound good.”   
“I know what he wants from you.” You started. “The guy in the picture with Kali...I talked to Kali the night you confronted Walker.”  
“You talked to Kali?” Gabriel blinked. “Wait, Walker said he was investigating you.”  
“He is.” You nodded, then pointed at the image of Kali and the ringed man that was still on the table. “This same picture was on my desk the same day you had it.”  
“And you never said anything.” Gabriel narrowed his eyes.  
“What was I going to tell you? I recognized the ring and I knew that this guy with Kali was in the bureau. I started poking around too, to figure it out.”  
“It’s Walker.” Gabriel realized suddenly, shaking his head.  
“I think so.” You nodded.  
“Of course.” Gabriel felt like an idiot for thinking you’d have Kali. “He bugged your phone when you started poking around.”  
“Not just that….the OPR investigation and Operation: Mentor...all of it. Walker wants to know what I know.”  
“And that was Kali.”  
“I passed a word to her saying I wanted to meet, to talk about you.” You explained.   
“What happened?” Gabriel leaned over the table.   
You sighed, thinking back. “We exchanged greetings before she pulled a gun on me.”  
“What?!” Anna nearly sprang out of her chair.  
“It’s okay.” You tried to calm your friend. “I knew she wouldn’t use it.” Anna breathed out, leaning back in her chair, ready for you to continue. You turned to Gabriel. “I showed her my ring...letting it slip that it was just like Walker’s. She acted confused about the name and then wanted to know what I wanted. I told her to leave you alone, but Kali said she couldn’t do that. So, I explained that I could help get her whatever you had.” You let out a breathe. “She said that you stole a piece….specifically a music box.”  
“He’s controlling her.” Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair.  
“I don’t think so.” You leaned back, hating to see your partner in distress.  
“She’s not working for him.”  
“Gabriel, when are you gonna face the facts?” You leaned over the table.   
“You’re wrong.” He argued.   
“Oh, damn it, Gabriel.” You shook your head. “I looked into her eyes. I didn’t see concern for you.”  
“No. This is an angle. An act.”  
You knew that he wasn’t going to believe you until he saw Kali for himself, though you wanted to argue more. Kali didn’t deserve him, especially as she seemed to be playing him. “She wants this music box, Do you know where it is?”  
Gabriel thought for a moment, staring down at the table. “I might.”  
“Oh, come on. You’re gonna cut me off now?”  
Whiskey eyes shot up to your own eyes. “I know where it is.”  
“Good. So, what is it?” You noticed Anna lean in, curiosity always got the best of her.  
“Catherine the Great had a room in her palace in St. Petersburg made entirely of amber. You’ve heard of it?”  
“Yeah, it was dubbed the eighth wonder of the world. The Nazis looted it in World War Two. What of it?”  
“One of the things they took was an amber music box.”  
“Okay. Probably worth a few bucks, huh?” You figured.   
“Yeah, but not enough for all this.” Gabriel gestured around. “It’s gotta be holding some secret.”  
“I wanna see it.” You told him.  
Gabriel thought it over, biting his lower lip. “I’m gonna need some time.”  
“Fine, but don’t take too long.”

Gabriel waited impatiently for Balthazar in his apartment, pacing around to keep himself busy. Just as he turned once again, he heard the knock of his friend and hurried to open the door. “So, Walker wants the music box, huh?” His friend didn’t even bother with a greeting as he sauntered inside. “So, we give it to him. Done.”  
“That’s the problem. I don’t have it.” Gabriel shrugged.  
“What?” Balthazar turned, eyeing his friend. “You told everyone you had it.”  
“That’s not true. Everyone just assumed I took it, I never stated that I had it.”  
“But you never corrected them.” He arched an eyebrow.  
Gabriel smirked. “Image is everything.”  
“Now what? Why am I here then?”  
“Now, I find the music box and...possibly steal it.”  
Balthazar smiled. “Now the fun begins.”


	15. Judgy Dearest

The morning was starting off good as you had your coffee, a warm breakfast, and Gabriel trusting you once again. You were glad that you two were on the same page about Walker now and hopefully you could focus on that.  
Stepping out of the elevator, you saw your partner already waiting for you. “Good weekend?” He greeted, mirroring your smile.  
“Great.” You opened the door for him. “Cake testing with Anna. Having an event planner as a roommate is the best.”  
“Ah. Wish I could’ve been there.” Your partner pouted. “You should’ve called me.”  
“Yeah, but then it’d be a cake massacre.” You sassed back. “Plus, didn’t you go to the Guggenheim?”  
“I did.” Gabriel nodded. “Excellent by the way. Got to see a rumination on the physicality of space and the nature of sculpture.”  
You arched an eyebrow at him as you walked to your office. “I don’t think I understood a single word of that.”  
“Perhaps you should join me sometime...could learn a thing or two.”   
“Maybe next time.” You grinned, then turned to see Sam walking over to you. “Hey.”  
“Hey boss.” Sam greeted, then pointed to the conference room. “David Sullivan is waiting for you in the conference room.”  
“Perfect.” You huffed.  
Whiskey eyes darted between Sam and you, then peeked over at the conference room. “Who’s that? Something wrong?”  
“He’s been calling all week about a mortgage-fraud case.” You sighed. “It’s a pretty cut-and-dry foreclosure. Not sure what else we can do.”  
“Well, he brought his little girl.” Sam added.  
“Seriously?” You lightly shook your head. “I hate it when they play the sympathy card.”  
“That’s because it works.” Sam chuckled at you.  
“Is it working?” Gabriel smiled over at you.  
“Yes.” You grumbled, tugging on Gabriel’s sleeve. “Well, let’s go talk to him.”   
“What do you need me for?”  
“You’re my partner. I’m your boss.” You explained. “And I’m not the best around kids.”  
“And I am?” Gabriel scoffed.  
“Today you are, con man.” You said before marching off to the conference room with Gabriel behind you. “Mr. Sullivan.” You gave a tight smile to the man as you opened the glass door, noticing his daughter coloring next to him. “And this must be…”  
“Allison.” David answered, standing up as you stood next to the table.  
“Well...what seems to be the issue?” You asked, already knowing the answer.  
“The bank forecloses on our home in a week.” David crossed his arms, to appear tougher.  
“Mr. Sullivan’s father recently passed.” You whispered to Gabriel. “He left him his home, and before his death, he took out a second mortgage on it.”  
“He didn’t take out a second mortgage.” David argued. “He would never do that. Someone cheated us.”  
You inwardly sighed. “I looked at your case, Mr. Sullivan. I’m sorry, but things like this happen.”  
“Was your father in debt?” Gabriel cut in.   
“He wasn’t in debt. I know him.” He started to raise his voice, though you understood why. This was difficult for him, but you weren’t sure what to do.  
“Do you?” You challenged, thinking back to the file that you had read on him recently. “Last three years of his life he was in an extended-care center. You only visited him four times. I promise, I did look at your case.”  
You watched the man comb his hair back with his fingers as he swallowed hard. “Look…” David began. “...my dad was a hard man. However, near the end of his life, he wanted to know his granddaughter.” At her name, Allison glanced up. “She got us past our differences. He wanted to give her a home to grow up in. That’s how I know my father wouldn’t take out a second mortgage to play blackjack. Okay?” David let out a heavy sigh. “You’re our last chance.”  
Before you could reply, Allison held up her drawing to show you. “That’s you.” She pointed to the figure in the middle.   
You sighed, knowing that you were giving in and going to help them. You weren’t sure how, but you’d try something. “We’ll look into it, again.” You nodded. “No promises though.”  
“Thank you, ma’am.” Allison ran over and hugged your leg.   
“Of course.” You smiled down at her.  
They left shortly after and you gave Gabriel the files to read up on, maybe he’d see something new. While he was doing that you went through some files of your own, trying different avenues to see if anything clicked.   
A few minutes later he knocked on your office door with the files in hand. “Pretty cut-and-dry.” Gabriel nodded, taking a seat. “Bank has paperwork signed and notarized.” His whiskey eyes glanced up at you. “I see why you didn’t take this on.”  
“Actually. I think I’m glad I changed my mind.” You smirked. “I tried to call the N.Y.P.D. detective Mr. Sullivan spoke to originally.”  
“Yeah?”  
You nodded. “Turns out he’s retired.”  
“So?”  
“How many detectives you know retire at thirty-five?”  
Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up. “Now that’s worth looking into.”  
“Yeah, I’m thinking we should ask him out for coffee.”  
“I never say no to coffee.”

You watched in horror as Gabriel poured another bag of sugar into his cup of joe. “You’re gonna die of a sugar overdose.”   
Gabriel used a spoon to mix it in better. “At least it’s a nice death. Better than most.”  
“True, but-” You stopped as you noticed that the detective arrived. He looked fit and you noticed he had the good looks of a flashy television sleuth. “Mr. Herrera.” You stood up, reaching your hand out. “Thanks for coming. I’m Agent Y/L/N.”  
“Who’s this?” He eyed your hand, but didn’t take it, instead glaring at Gabriel.  
“I’m with the FBI.” Gabriel smiled up at him, taking a sip of his coffee.  
“Um, no.” Mr. Herrera sat down across from the two of you. “She’s FBI.” He gestured to you then turned back to your partner. “FBI can’t afford those cufflinks.”   
You tried not to take insult. “For a retired detective, you don’t seem out of practice.”  
“You didn’t answer my question.” He shot back.  
You nodded. “He’s my consultant. We’re investigating the Sullivan case.”  
“Really? Why?”  
“Mr. Sullivan has a daughter, and Y/N can’t say no to kids.” Gabriel interjected.   
You ignored Gabriel’s comment, trying to focus back on the case. “You know, you cleared over ninety percent of your cases. If you don’t mind me asking, what made you all of a sudden, turn in your resignation?”  
“Well, I...I got tired of the grind.” He explained. “Look, I swung an early pension. I don’t know if you’re recording this conversation, but I don’t have anything to say.” Mr. Herrera stood up. “I appreciate the coffee.”  
“Whoa, whoa.” You held up your hand. “You burned your career for this case. You’re just gonna walk away?”  
He shook his head. “Like I said, I got nothing to say. Sullivan’s a dud. Let it go.” He took a step back. “Thanks again for the coffee.” Turning away, he took a couple steps towards the door then stopped. You saw the tension in his shoulders and the hesitation, knowing that he was hiding something. After a breath, Mr. Herrera face the two of you again. “You know what? Let me leave a tip.” He rifled through his wallet.  
“Oh, I got it.” You told him.  
“I insist.” The expression on his face caught your attention. “It’s the least I can do.” You watched him count out his change before leaving.   
“That was cryptic.” Gabriel murmured once Mr. Herrera was near the door. You nodded, watching your partner count the change. “Four dollars and seventy-six cents.”  
“For three cups of coffee. Pretty generous for a retired cop’s salary.”  
“Very generous and very specific.” Gabriel agreed.

The next day at work had you busy with trying to match the numbers to anything in the Sullivan case. Boxes of files littered your office with Gabriel helping you go through them all. “Four seven six. Could be an area code.” Gabriel suggested as he sat on the floor.  
“Not in America.” You shook your head, leaning against your window.  
“Badge number?”  
“I don’t think so.” You flipped through another file. “You know for a dud case, Herrera generated a lot of paperwork.”  
“Yeah, making our jobs that much more boring.” Gabriel agreed.  
“Wait.” You pushed yourself away from the window. “I think I got something. Four seven six.”  
“What is it?” Gabriel stood up.  
“It’s an ID number for a federal district judge.” You passed the piece of paper over to Gabriel. “They stamp these on the files for every case you preside over.”  
“Judge Michelle Clark.” Gabriel read.  
“Do you know her?”  
“No, but Herrera said he was leaving a tip.” Gabriel smiled at the pun.  
You nodded, thinking the same thing. “Maybe Her Honor’s not so honorable.”  
“Hey now. One cop already lost his job over this. You sure you wanna go down this road?”  
“Yeah.” You glanced over at Allison’s drawing of you that you had laying on your desk. “I do.”  
“Alright then.” Gabriel patted your back.

After work, Gabriel hurried to his apartment as he had called Balthazar to find news of Judge Clark. Gabriel wasn’t disappointed as he found his friend at his table with files surrounding him. “Hey. Find anything good on Judge Clark?” He took a seat next his friend.  
“As your legal counsel, I advise you to peruse the following exhibits.” Balthazar laid a few files in front of Gabriel.  
“Okay, court orders.” Gabriel began scanning them. “Search warrants….this is everything Walker used when he arrested me.”  
“Aw, yes. Check out the fine print.” Balthazar tapped the bottom of one paper. “She was Walker’s go-to judge while he was investigating you.”  
Picking up the paper, he turned to Balthazar. “What’s her name doing on search warrants? Y/N and I are working a mortgage-fraud scam.”  
“Warrants which, if they’d been reviewed by an impartial judge, may have been thrown out.”   
“So Walker’s got a judge in his pocket...or possibly in his pants.” Gabriel smirked. “That’s handy….not exactly what I meant, but it kinda works.” They both chuckled at that. “Y/N’s gonna love this.”  
“Wait, you’re gonna tell Y/N?” Balthazar arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”  
“Walker has Kali. If his pet judge is dirty I can use it against him.”  
Balthazar shook his head. “You tell her, she files a report, and Walker sees you coming. Secrets are safer.”   
Gabriel got up, shaking his head as he felt Balthazar’s eyes on him. If this could hurt Walker, then it was worth it. He couldn’t let Walker win and after the whole ring thing, he did trust you more.   
“And what do you mean he has Kali?” His friend interrupted his thoughts.  
“Just as I said. He has her.” Gabriel huffed.  
“Oh really? And what does Y/N think?” Balthazar leaned back, tilting his head. “We agree don’t we? Me and Y/N?” Gabriel ignored him, so he took it as he was right. “Kali could be working with Walker.”  
“If I talk to her, then I’ll know.”   
Balthazar watched his friend pace around the kitchen for a few seconds before he spoke again. “Do you trust Y/N?”  
“Yes….well...till I can’t.” Gabriel admitted.  
“Vague, in a Zen kinda way….look, she met with Kali. Obviously, Y/N knows how to get a hold of your girlfriend. Can she give Kali a message? Do you trust her enough for that?”  
You waited until Gabriel was at his desk before approaching with the file you had on Judge Clark. Hopefully a new day would provide with new insight on the case. “Her Honor, Judge Clark.” You laid the file on his desk, watching as he studied the picture of her. “Wonder how this nice face gets a detective to take an early pension.”  
“She must have a lot of pull.” Gabriel suggested, leaning back in his chair.  
You gave a small nod at that. “Clark deals primarily in probate law. Her last case was-”  
“The Sullivan House.” Gabriel finished.  
“Look at these.” You handed him more files. “Nine properties over the past two years taken by various banks.” You explained as your phone rang in your pocket. “She presided over all of them.” After checking the caller I.D. you answered. “Hey Anna.”  
“Hey.” Your roommate cheerfully replied. “How would you like to come home for lunch?”  
“I’d like that a lot.” You smiled, remembering how good her last meal was.  
“Good.” You could practically see her smile. “I’m trying out a new caterer for an upcoming event. I would love your opinion on the food.”  
“Always love to help out. What’s on the menu?” You noticed Gabriel’s eyes on you.  
“Well, samplings of pate, couscous, a lot of fancy stuff.” Anna rattled off.  
“No cake?” You frowned.  
“Not this time.” Anna chuckled. “But, hey, feel free to bring Gabe along.”  
“Oh. That’s why you’re calling.” You shook your head. Of course she’d want Gabriel over you, he’s probably been to every fancy restaurant in New York. “You wanna borrow him.”  
“I wanna borrow his palate...and yours as well.”  
You glanced over at Gabriel. “Anna’s inviting you to lunch. Good thing is I get to come along too.” Gabriel smirked at your comment, giving you a thumbs up. “He’s in.”  
“Great! See you two soon.” 

“Stop messing with my car.” You pushed his hands away from the center console as you drove through the city.  
“But I wanna get the GPS thing.” Gabriel argued back, trying to work the screen again. You shot him a look, making him stop in his tracks. The car was silent for a few blocks before Gabriel spoke up again. “I need to ask you about Kali.” He said carefully.  
You regarded him for a moment, then focused back on the road. “I told you everything.”  
“You didn’t tell me how you contacted her.”   
You shrugged. “I’m a fed. If I wanna find someone, I do.” You hoped he’d drop it, knowing that nothing good would come from Kali. What you saw in that hotel room was not love or concern for him, it was simply doing a job and even if Gabriel wouldn’t believe you, you still needed to protect him.  
“Can you get a message to her?” Whiskey eyes pleaded over at you.  
“I can try.” You nodded. “What do you wanna say?”  
“Tell her I’m starting to wonder if the bottle really did mean goodbye.”   
The rest of the ride was quiet after that, though you did glance over at Gabriel from time to time. You started to wonder if he was possibly ever gonna let Kali go. Thankfully, before the silence could turn awkward you arrived at your home with Gabriel in tow.   
“Hey, Anna.” Your voice rang out after unlocking the door. “Don’t worry I brought Gabriel along.”  
“Hi Anna.” Your partner hugged your roommate. “Thanks for the invite.” He stepped away, observing the dishes on the table. “Ah, foie gras.”  
“Yeah, I have a lot of it.” Anna pointed to one of the dishes. “I want you guys to try this one first.”  
“Looks good.” You admitted, popping a small piece in your mouth.  
“Truthfully, I haven’t had time to try them.” Your roommate admitted. She watched as you each chewed your pieces, waiting for your reactions.  
“Ugh.” You grabbed a napkin, spitting most of it out.  
“See, that’s why I wanted Gabe here.” Anna crossed her arms.  
“Why?” You looked between the two of them. “Because he’s a good liar?”  
“No, because he appreciates fine cuisine.” She turned to him, smiling.  
“Sorry, sweetheart...this is not.” He grabbed himself a napkin. “No one could lie that well.”  
Anna frowned, picking a piece up for herself, smelling it. “Oh, yeah. That does smell bad. Good thing you guys tried it first.” She set the piece back down. “So, this caterer’s off my list.”  
You wiped your tongue off, hoping the flavor would go away as you scanned over the table, wondering what else you’d have to taste. Then you noticed two cups of coffee near the end of the table. “Who else tasted the food?”  
“Hmm?” Anna looked up at you from her list.  
“The coffee cups.” You pointed out.  
“Oh.” She explained. “I made coffee for the cable guy. It went out, so he came by to fix it.”  
“They got someone out here fast.” Gabriel arched a brow, sharing a look with you.  
You glanced at Anna. “When did you call them?”  
“Actually they called me. They accidentally cut a power line down the street. They were fixing the cables, so they sent someone. I thought it was strange, but I asked the neighbors and their cable went out as well.” Anna tried to reassure you. “Why? What’s wrong?” She watched you picked up the home phone.  
You redialed the last number, hoping to be wrong. You listened to the voice, explaining that the number wasn’t available, meaning that it was fake. Quickly, you grabbed Anna’s notepad and wrote down that you thought it was a bug. Gabriel nodded at your words, sitting down at the table while you went searching around the T.V.  
“So, where’s the gala your new client’s hosting?” Gabriel started, trying to keep Anna talking like nothing was wrong.  
“I-It’s at the Met.” Anna blinked. “It’s next week.”  
“I love the Met.” Gabriel tried to keep her focused on him. “They have this fantastic Matisse I’ve always admired. It’s on the second floor, right near the fire exit.”  
As he spoke you peered around the wires, carefully lifting things to check for any bugs. Finally, you found one under your dvd box. Taking it out you held it up, showing Anna and Gabriel the black little bug that had been spying on you. Gabriel grabbed the notepad, writing what you planned to do next.  
“Now? Now I’m pissed off.” You snapped setting the bug on the ground and crushing it under your shoe.  
Even though the bug was dead, the three of you huddled outside, still worried that there may be more. Sitting at the round table outside, you eyed Gabriel who sat across from you. “You suspected something the moment she mentioned the cable guy.” You whispered. “What aren’t you telling me? Is it Walker?”  
“I don’t wanna talk about it here.” Gabriel glanced around, keeping his voice down.  
“And there could be more inside?” Anna piped in.  
“I’ll take care of it.” You reassured your roommate, already thinking of a plan.  
Gabriel shook his head. “You can’t go through the normal channels. OPR has too much reach inside the bureau.”  
You let out a sigh, knowing he was right. “What do you suggest?”  
“I know a cleaning guy. Does a great job on my place.”  
You thought for a moment, then realized who he was talking about. “No way. Not him.”  
“Y/N, come on.” Anna poked you. “I can’t live like this.”  
“Alright, fine. Call your guy.” You told Gabriel. “But I want someone I can trust watching him, especially with Anna.”  
“Wait. What do you mean?” Your roommate observed the two of you.  
“He’s….a flirt.” Gabriel explained, though you both knew that didn’t even scratch the surface.  
“I can handle that.” Anna scoffed.

A knock at the door sounded the arrival of the cleaner. Anna opened the door, must to your dismay as she wanted to see who this man was. She took in the handsome man before her, wearing a crisp gray suit and a suitcase in hand.   
“Ah, je ne savais pas que tu serais si jolie.” Balthazar bowed, kissing your roommate’s hand. “And good to see you too, Y/N.”  
You gave him a small smile. “Anna, this is-”  
“You can call me futur petit ami.” He interrupted.  
“Or I can just call you the cleaner.” Anna smiled back, beckoning him in.   
“Remember, we just need help with our little problem.” You reminded him as you watched him open his briefcase. “Is that a night-vision spotting scope?” You whispered in disbelief, suddenly wanting to know what else he had in there.  
“Yes. I like to be prepared.”  
“Well, in any case, thanks for your help.” Anna watched him go into the dining room.  
Another knock at the door sounded that Sam had arrived, so he could watch Balthazar. “Hey, Sam.” You greeted, letting him in.  
“Hey.”  
“Thanks for coming and doing this.”  
“No problem.” Sam assured you, taking his coat off and hanging it by the door.  
“Okay, so that’s him.” You nodded to Balthazar. “Make sure Anna stays safe and far away from him. I don’t want him getting any ideas.”  
“Yeah, but don’t you think Anna can take care of herself?” Sam whispered.  
“I don’t wanna take any chances.” You whispered back. “Also, make sure he doesn’t take anything.”  
“Got it.”  
The back door swung open just as your conversation with Sam ended, revealing Gabriel. “Hey, Balthie.” He smiled over at his friend who was waving a device in the air, trying to find any hidden bugs.   
“Busy, mate.” Balthazar replied, turning to the kitchen.  
“You’ll be fine.” Gabriel nodded at Anna and you. “Just...do you have any expensive paintings? Gold? Jewels?”  
“No...not really.” Anna suddenly looked worried.  
“Okay, great. You’ll be fine then.”  
“Well, on that note…you have some explaining to do.” You grabbed your coat, motioning for Gabriel to follow you.  
Once you were a block away you turned to your partner. “So, Walker was trying to protect his judge for Operation Mentor. Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“I was getting to it.” Gabriel brushed off.  
“He knows I pulled our detective’s file.” You frowned, hating to be left in the dark.  
Gabriel nodded. “He realizes you’re on his trail, he comes after you.”  
“Us.” You reminded him. “Comes after us.”  
“Maybe we can get to him first through Judge Clark.”  
You stopped walking, turning to Gabriel. “This thing Walker wants from you, the music box, better play one catchy tune.”  
“It’s worth it.” Gabriel assured you before continuing down the sidewalk.  
“Why are guys like you always interested in antiques with a dangerous history?” You mumbled.  
“Because they have a lasting impact.” Gabriel nudged you. “Look at how they’re affecting us now.”  
“Unbelievable.” You huffed. “We are about to go after a federal judge.”  
Gabriel grabbed your arm, turning you to face him. “It’s worth it to take down Walker.” He said in a serious tone.  
“Okay.” You nodded, realizing that you didn’t have much of a choice now. “We stop the judge from taking the Sullivan home then we get her disrobed.” It took a moment to realize what you had said, but Gabriel was already smirking. “I...you know what I meant.”  
“Sure..” Gabriel chuckled.  
“Shut up.” You mumbled. “Let’s just get to work.”


End file.
